


The Importance of Elsewhere

by la_muerta



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Human, Falling In Love, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Insomnia, Japan, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Self-Discovery, Singer Magnus Bane, Slow Burn, Smut, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-02-13 22:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12994281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_muerta/pseuds/la_muerta
Summary: Magnus is an R&B singer who has to travel to Japan to find an audience. Alec's mother has just uprooted the whole family to Japan for a fresh start after a painful divorce, derailing his plans to go to college.Neither of them can sleep.They are strangers in a foreign land who meet by chance one sleepless night. And both of them are about to discover an odd fact of life - that sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to find yourself.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

Blue, a bright deep blue with the slightest hint of green at the edges. Magnus opened his eyes to blue water just outside the plane window.

They were probably landing soon; Magnus must have slept through the last drinks service. He rubbed his eyes gently, mindful of smearing his make-up, and watched as the plane cruised low over the water. It almost felt like they were going to land in Osaka Bay before the plane finally hit the tarmac.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kansai International Airport. Local time is 3pm and the temperature is 9 degrees Celsius. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened..." 

The announcement was repeated in Japanese, and Magnus tuned it out. It had been a long flight - over 24 hours from New York, with a 5-hour stopover at Hong Kong, and he was restless to get out of the plane and stretch his legs. This was the second time he was making this trip from New York to Osaka, and he thought he would probably never get used to being forced to sit in one spot for hours on end. Even when he was at the studio recording his songs, he would be moving along to the music. 

He navigated the airport, a gigantic structure of glass and curving steel, on autopilot. Getting past customs took a little longer because of the three specially engraved bottles of Johnny Walker blue label sitting inside his luggage, but everything went smoothly with typical Japanese efficiency. 

"Magnus!" 

He spotted Dot, his personal assistant for his stint in Japan, and wheeled his trolley over to peck her on the cheek.

"How was the flight?" she asked him.

"Same old," Magnus shrugged. "Please don't tell me I have anything on today though."

"Magnus! I sent you the itinerary weeks ago!" Dot scolded. 

"I know, I know, I swear I looked at it but I can't remember any of it. Anyway, that's why I have you, right?" Magnus smiled winningly at her. 

Dot sighed. "Nothing on today, but you have to meet the director for the CM tomorrow morning, and there's the recording for the music show in the afternoon. Please tell me you remembered the whiskey."

"Yes, that I remembered," Magnus assured her, patting his luggage. He knew the drill by now - working with someone new always meant bringing a gift, and he'd probably get a gift, usually a bottle of _sake,_  in return. He had given most of the _sake_ he had received the last time to Dot, finding it too much of a hassle to bring it back to the States. 

" _Ano... Sumimasen!_ Magnus Bane- _san_ _desuka_?"

Magnus startled to hear his name, and found himself being approached by a gaggle of girls. Gods, _fans_. He had _fans_. He hadn't been expecting to be recognised, much less to have people actually waiting at the airport for him after releasing only one single. It was a lucky thing he'd popped by the washroom to touch-up his make-up after he'd landed. 

He spent some time signing autographs and taking selfies with them, and gratifying as it was to finally have people who were interested in him and his music, it still made him feel a little hollow inside. The truth was, Magnus wasn't entirely sure what he was doing here.

It had been hard, being an Asian-American R&B singer - the market was just too saturated as it was, and somehow none of the record companies or marketing departments had known what to make of an Indonesia-born States-bred guy in a genre dominated by black singers. Magnus _knew_ he was talented. He knew he had a gift for creating that unique turn of phrase, for writing melodies that got stuck in your head in a good way. But he'd been told that he didn't "fit the aesthetics", that he was trying too hard to "sound black" and all manner of ridiculous things. But he'd always had a knack for languages, and somehow his agent Ragnor had learned that he had taken a few Japanese classes, and one thing had led to another.

It had been a gamble, but all it had taken was one Japanese single, a collaboration with a Japanese lyricist, and Magnus had hit pay-dirt. His exotic looks, quirky and elegant fashion sense, and ability to speak the language (well, enough to answer questions on talk shows without making a fool of himself) meant that he had quite the following in Japan. That also meant most of the songs on his album were in Japanese, and he would have to keep travelling to Osaka, where his record label's Japanese partner was, to promote his music. He had also landed a couple of product endorsements - for energy drinks, chocolate and mobile phones, of all things. 

But it wasn't exactly what Magnus wanted to do, because words were important to him, and most of his songs were deeply personal - it felt wrong singing the words someone else had written, in a language he didn't understand well enough to write his own music in. But it was hard to say 'no' after the first pay cheque, especially since he had spent most of his music career living from hand-to-mouth and crashing on Ragnor's couch. 

When he had said goodbye to the fans, he gave a small smile to Dot and tried to shake the gloomy feeling off. 

"So. I hope there's a bar near my apartment," he joked. 

"Well - there's been a tiny problem," Dot confessed. 

Magnus raised an eyebrow at her, looking a lot calmer than he felt. "What? They don't want me here after all?" 

"No! No, it's not that," Dot said with a little laugh. "It's just that I know I told you we were going to rent an apartment for you, since you're going to be here for much longer this time, but apparently that didn't work out. So you'll be staying at the hotel for a while."

"They're putting me up at the Swissotel for three months?" he asked in surprise, then shrugged. "Well, I'm not the one paying for it."

"I'll still be trying to get that apartment for you," she assured him.  

"Yes, you'd better. The outrage! Three months at a four-star hotel - how will I survive?" he gasped dramatically, and laughed when she smacked him on the shoulder. 

 

  

He spent the rest of the daylight hours exploring the hotel - not that there was very much that made it different from any other hotel in the world, especially since this was a chain hotel. There were the usual facilities - a gym, sauna and steam room, swimming pool, jazz bar, and a couple of restaurants. The view wasn't even half bad, even though his room wasn't on a high floor and the hotel was set smack in the middle of the city, so all there was to see were bright lights and teeming traffic.  

Then he moved all his clothes from his luggage to the hotel wardrobe, although he ran out of hangers and wardrobe space pretty quickly. That was going to be a problem - he was supposed to be here for three months, and even with possibility of using layering to change his look, he didn't have quite enough clothes to come up with three months' worth of unique outfits. He'd been planning to go shopping in his spare time, but that would be pointless if he didn't have the space for the clothes. Hopefully Dot would come through and get him that apartment after all - although that would also mean packing this entire mess back into his luggage, which gave Magnus a headache just thinking about it.

He went to use the surprisingly well-stocked hotel gym, then took a shower and went out to find the nearest hole-in-the-wall _ramen_ place according to the travel app on his phone. And because he smelled like food when he came back to the hotel, he took _another_ shower.

He bundled himself up in one of the hotel's fluffy bathrobes and checked the clock on the bedside table - 9pm. It'd be 7am in New York now. Was it too early to be calling Ragnor in an attempt to FaceTime his cat? It probably was - Ragnor was an early riser by nature, but Magnus knew from experience that it was a bad idea to catch him before his first cup of coffee. 

So he turned on the television to some nature programme for some white noise, took out his notepad and tried to write something new for his next album for about half an hour before he gave it up as a bad job and ended up channel surfing through several vaguely comprehensible programmes until it was a safe hour to call Ragnor.

"Ragnor! Hey, how's the Chairman?"

"Good morning to you too, you ungrateful sod," Ragnor grumbled. 

"Aww, did you run out of jaffa cakes again?" Magnus grinned.

"Yes, and you know bloody well that's because you ate all of them," Ragnor complained. 

"I couldn't help it, Ragnor. It'll be three whole months before I get to eat them again. Where's Chairman Meow?"

"Who knows where your blasted devil of a cat has gone off to? Maybe he ran away and was knocked down by a New York taxi." 

"Don't be mean, you're his godfather." 

"I most certainly did not ask for that dubious honour," Ragnor sniffed.

"Put him on the phone! I miss him."

"I'm not searching the whole apartment for your stupid cat. And he's a _cat_ , he doesn't care about you as long as someone fills his food bowl every evening. Go to sleep!" Ragnor barked, and cut the call.

Magnus pouted and resigned himself to another hour of channel surfing. At around midnight, he turned off the television, and pulled up the covers. 

One in the morning: someone, or a couple of someones, walked past his door, giggling and drunk. Wait, was there a third voice? Gods, he hoped they weren't in the room directly next to his. Fuck, they totally were.

Two in the morning: The drunken party next door had quietened down surprisingly quickly. Magnus got up to adjust the thermostat, then punched the pillows a bit in a futile effort to get comfortable. It was lucky they'd given him a queen-sized bed, really - his legs were always hanging halfway off the single-sized ones.

Three in the morning: maybe if he stacked two pillows together he wouldn't feel like he was sinking in them so much? 

By the time 4am rolled around, Magnus was still completely awake. It wasn't even like he had had a good rest on the plane - he had opted for a window seat, which meant limited leg room but spectacular views of the clouds, especially at sunset and sunrise. His make-up team was going to cluck and fuss and be all concerned about the dark circles around his eyes, and Magnus was going to have to smile and nod and pretend that he felt bad about it. 

He thought a walk might help, so he got dressed and went out. The street outside the hotel lobby was neon-lit - it never was completely dark in the big cities, even if Osaka wasn't quite like the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. He picked a direction at random and started walking. 

But it was cold, easily close to freezing point even though it was no longer snowing, and windy. He had only gone two blocks when he gave up and ducked into the sanctuary offered by the bright lights of a 24-hour convenience store. He wandered the aisles aimlessly, looking at the goods on offer - snacks, instant _ramen_ , sandwiches, enough variety of canned coffee to power a small nation (which was obviously what his hyperactive brain needed right now). The Japanese hot pot _oden_ soup smelled good though, so he chose a few of the unidentifiable items swimming in the container of broth, and settled down at a table facing the dark, lonely streets outside to eat.

After delaying the inevitable for about half an hour, Magnus steeled himself and stepped out into the cold for the short, miserable walk back to the hotel, back to another few hours of restless tossing and turning in stiff cold sheets until the sun finally rose over the horizon and he could give up and get out of bed. 

He _had_ tried. At least his conscience was clear on that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vaguely inspired by the film _Lost In Translation_. I liked the premise of the film, which I felt had a bit of the _mono no aware_ aspect of Japanese aesthetics (loosely translated to I guess a gentle sadness for the impermanence of things). But I hated how they made the Japanese look so clownish - so this is a fix-it, of sorts. Perhaps this fic will hit a little close to home because it _is_ incredibly difficult for Asian-American artistes, of any sort, to find a place in the US market. 
> 
> The title of this fic comes from a poem of the same title by Philip Larkin.
> 
> I'm not going to use much Japanese in conversations because it feels weird for me to mix up my languages like that, but if I do use any, I'll provide a translation. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Translations:**
> 
> " _Ano... Sumimasen!_ Magnus Bane _-san desuka_?" - "Excuse me, are you Mr Magnus Bane?"


	2. Chapter 2

 

Magnus was not going to survive three months in this place. At this rate, they were going to have to charge him extra for the bags under his eyes when he finally flew back to New York.  

His first week had gone by in a haze of sleep deprivation, which wasn't helping him figure out what people were saying to him, especially when they tended to speak the local dialect in Osaka. He couldn't concentrate, and trying to summon the energy to dance around in order to sell energy drinks was about as fun as stabbing himself in the eyeballs. And there was just the fact that sometimes none of it made any sense to him, even though he spoke the language - on one of the popular talk shows he had been on, the host had spent the entire time making bad word-puns on the Japanese names for different species of fish, and apparently that was Magnus' new normal.  

The pages of the notebook that he used for writing his songs remained stubbornly empty. He wondered if that was going to be the new normal too. 

Why couldn't going to sleep be as easy as flipping a switch - one flick, and then falling into oblivion? At first he'd thought it was jetlag, or possibly Ragnor's persistent refusal to put Chairman Meow on FaceTime causing him fur-parent anxiety, but after a whole week of tossing and turning and one grudging blurry photo from Ragnor, nothing had changed.

He had tried everything he could think of to help him sleep. It wasn't even the fact that the noisy threesome that he had overheard on the first night seemed to have a permanent residence in the room next to his, because they tended to shut up before two in the morning. It wasn't the bed, which was comfortable enough, and Magnus had even gone out to buy himself pillows to replace the hotel's overly soft ones. He had gotten ear plugs, eye masks, left the lights both on and off, left the television on for white noise, and played soothing music on his phone. He had tried going to the gym before bed, going for a swim, going for a swim and _then_  working out in the gym as well. He had tried drinking half a bottle of _sake_ , but trying to think in Japanese while hungover was even worse. Heck, he'd tried surfing the hotel's porn channel but hadn't been able to even get into the mood, not with the giggling neighbours and a desperate need for sleep that overrode whatever libido he had (which was _unheard_ of - so he was officially broken, now).  

The digital clock at the side of the table read 1.53am, 3.31am, then 5.17am. Always these odd numbers - Magnus wondered if someone out there was trying to tell him something. 

How long could someone go without sleep?

One week down, eleven more to go. Maybe by the end of the second week, he'd be so exhausted he'd finally be able to sleep at least _one_ measly night, all the way through from sundown until morning. Right?

 

  

Since he couldn't sleep anyway, Magnus had given up early on forcing himself to stay in bed. If he checked the clock and it was past 3am, Magnus would get up, get dressed, and wander the streets until the cold was too much to take. Then he'd hang out at the various 24-hour convenience stores around the hotel, even if it meant hitting the gym more often to work off the impromptu suppers. He was eating _oden_ so often, he could probably do a review on all the different items available, and which convenience store chain did what the best. The staff were starting to recognise him and greet him by name, and one of them, an attractive girl whom he suspected might be a fan, always kept the _oden_ pot well-stocked with his favourites.  

Magnus was not really a neat person by nature, if Ragnor's nagging was anything to go by. His idea of organisation was having a vague idea of where everything was in the mess. But wandering amongst the neat, organised rows of products illuminated by the flat white lights was strangely exciting. All the weird and wonderful things he'd never thought people would want to eat or drink, just unapologetically on display because someone had thought of it and had decided to run with the idea, and it'd turned out someone _had_ wanted it after all. Fried noodles sandwiched in a hot dog bun, rice balls wrapped in roasted seaweed and filled with preserved sour plums, and cream-puff flavoured soda were just some of the things Magnus couldn't help trying out of curiosity - and liking.

In the wee hours of his second Thursday morning in Osaka, Magnus had wandered a little further than usual from the hotel because it had been slightly warmer that night. He had had the vague idea of heading to the Dotonbori-gawa Canal that ran through the city and was supposed to be the heart of Osaka's nightlife, when it had started to drizzle. Moments after he ducked into a nearby convenience store, he saw the dark-haired boy. 

Magnus was used to being the only customer in the store, given the times that he visited them, and perhaps that was partly why his eye had been drawn to him. There was also that he didn't often see Caucasians around, which was an odd experience for Magnus because he'd spent most of his life being the only Asian in the room. 

The boy looked like he might be in his early twenties, and was wearing an innocuous ensemble of a black T-shirt, jeans and a dark-coloured jacket. Being a minor celebrity working in the entertainment industry meant Magnus was surrounded by beautiful people all the time, but this boy was a tall drink of water - emphasis on tall. Sure, he could do with a tan, perhaps, and he had the hunched posture common in people who were taller than everyone else around them and had therefore started slouching to lessen the height difference. But he had cheekbones so sharp you could cut yourself on them, and filled out his shirt nicely, so Magnus subtly tried to move closer for a better look.

He was probably a tourist popping in for a box of condoms so he could have responsible sex with his girlfriend while on holiday, but Magnus' philosophy was that there was no harm looking. He grabbed a basket and pretended to be interested in the beer snacks on offer while he sneaked glances at his new eye candy. The boy wandered along the aisles for baked goods and shampoo, pointedly avoided the condom and lube section, and moved on to the candy section. Then he looked up, and he saw Magnus, who was about two shelves away

Bright hazel eyes met his for a second - the second stretched out into a minute, far too long for a couple of strangers to be staring into each other's eyes. Magnus gave him a tentative smile. The boy blushed and looked away, fumbling with the box of candy he had picked up and hurriedly shoving it back onto the shelf. He turned and left the shop in a hurry, stepping out into the light rain outside with a brief backward glance at Magnus. The sound of the chime that announced someone entering or leaving the store echoed mechanically in his wake.

"Fuck," Magnus breathed.

 

 

Magnus had no problem admitting that he was a romantic at heart, but he didn't believe in love at first sight, or soul mates, or destiny. By the time he got back to his hotel room, he was prepared to write off that strange electric connection as some sort of hallucination brought on by lack of sleep. That didn't prevent him from planning to go back to that same convenience store the next night though. It was nice to finally be unable to sleep for a different and more tangible reason.

He took extra care with his clothes and make-up, even doing his nails with a fresh coat of polish, feeling a little bit silly and giddy about dressing up as if he actually had a date with a beautiful stranger when he was basically just taking a long walk to a convenience store. He was out of the hotel room by 2am.

On the walk there, Magnus told himself not to be disappointed if the boy wasn't there. Anything could have happened - maybe he had just happened to be in the vicinity last night and wouldn't have returned to the same store at 3am in the morning because it was out of the way. Maybe last night had been his last night in Osaka, and he had caught a flight out that day. Maybe he was asleep, like most normal people were at 3am in the morning. Maybe Magnus had just been imagining things, and whatever he'd thought he'd felt had only been in his own mind. 

As he got nearer to the store, he checked his reflection in a darkened shop window, then took a deep breath and stepped into the store, eyes already scanning the small space for the head of messy black hair. And there he was, standing right next to the assortment of coffee and tea on display. He looked up when the door chimed, then quickly looked down again. 

Magnus grinned, spirits soaring. Oh, this was definitely happening. He walked purposefully towards the boy, and he could see the tension in his shoulders as he suddenly went stock-still.

"So... do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by you again?" he asked him cheekily, and the boy let out a short snort of laughter, posture relaxing a bit.

"I'm Magnus," he said, holding out a hand.

"Alec," he responded, shaking Magnus' hand briefly but firmly.

"I'm guessing that's short for Alexander."

"Yeah."

"How about I buy you a drink, and we continue our conversation somewhere else?" Magnus suggested. 

Alec squinted at him suspiciously. "Is this some sort of code word for a one-night stand? Because, you know, I'm not really into that."

"No! I mean not that you aren't very attractive, but that's not what I meant at all. I was actually thinking of going down to Dotonbori-gawa. Have you been there yet?"

"Sounds good," Alec nodded. "But I'm buying your drink."

Magnus laughed. "No objections from me."

They both got hot coffees despite the hour - Magnus figured he wasn't going to sleep anyway - before making their way to the canal, which was supposed to be a short walk away.

"I didn't realise you were American," Alec blurted out. "I mean, you don't look Japanese, but I thought maybe you were from somewhere in the region."

"My parents were from Indonesia, but I grew up in Brooklyn," Magnus said. "You sound like a New Yorker yourself."

"Yeah, Upper East Side. My family's only just moved to Japan."

So Alec was actually going to be here for a while, Magnus thought. The next ten weeks in Osaka were looking brighter already. 

They heard the sounds from the streets around Dotonbori-gawa even before they saw the flashing neon lights. Even at 3am on a Friday morning, there were still people milling around and shops open, most of them pubs,  _pachinko_ parlours and karaoke bars, but with the occasional  _ramen_ place. Loud drunken laughter and gruff voices speaking the local dialect drifted out of the pubs as they walked along the side of the canal, along with a lingering smell of fried seafood and cigarette smoke. 

"So... why were you hanging out in the convenience store at 3am in the morning?" Magnus asked.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Couldn't sleep either," Magnus admitted. 

"Why a convenience store, though? I thought you'd be more of the partying kind," Alec said, gesturing one hand vaguely at Magnus' outfit.

"I have an _oden_ addiction," Magnus replied with a straight face, and Alec looked highly skeptical. "I'm guessing you're _not_ the partying kind." 

"No, that's more of Jace's and Izzy's thing. My siblings."

"But why the convenience store?" Magnus asked.

"I don't know. It's just... everything is so orderly, you know? There are so many things on sale, and everything is different, but everything has its place - even if it's oddly shaped, or you wouldn't expect them to sell something like that in a convenience store."

Magnus smiled. "Oddly enough, I think I understand." 

"I think my little brother Max would have called us freaks," Alec said with a small smile.

"Well, then - cheers from one insomniac freak to another," Magnus laughed, and raised his coffee cup to tap Alec's cup lightly.

"If you think about it, coffee from the convenience store dispenser is a pretty apt drink for that toast," Alec muttered. 

The silence between them stretched out, but it was a comfortable silence. Sometimes there were people you could be quiet with, where you never felt the need to fill the silence with meaningless small talk. Magnus could count on one hand the number of people he was that comfortable with, and it had taken years for them to get that point - but Alec was already there. Looking down at the bright lights reflected in the dark waters of the canal, Magnus thought maybe not being able to sleep had brought him one good thing after all.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

They had arranged to meet again on Saturday, and Alec was feeling slightly nervous. Magnus seemed to naturally be a bit of a flirt, so Alec wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a date, or just new friends going out together to have fun. And it didn't help that when Izzy had turned on the television for some white noise during dinner on Friday night, Alec had immediately recognised Magnus on the screen. The topic of Magnus' occupation hadn't turned up during their brief meeting on Friday morning, but now Alec knew Magnus was apparently some sort of celebrity in Japan. 

The television programme in question had been a music talk show, and despite his limited understanding of Japanese, Alec had figured out that Magnus was in Japan to promote his new album. There had also been a live performance, with Magnus singing and dancing and flirting with the camera. Alec was _so_  screwed.

"Alec? Alec!"

"Yes?" Alec snapped out of his reverie to find his mother and sister staring at him. He had the impression they'd been trying to get his attention for some time.

"Are you alright? Are you coming down with something?" Maryse Lightwood clucked with concern, leaning over to feel his forehead and brush his fringe out of his eyes. 

"I'm fine, Mum," Alec assured her. 

"Don't you think your hair is getting a bit too long, honey?"

"I think it looks good on him," Izzy piped up. "Like those characters in-" She shut up abruptly, and the mood at the dinner table immediately plummeted.

Alec knew the gist of what Izzy had been going to say - like a character in a _manga_ , those Japanese comics Max used to read. Sometimes Alec wondered if that was why their mother had taken this job in Japan, because it reminded her of the things Max had liked when he was alive - _manga_ , sushi, that arcade game where the machine fed you the steps to a dance set to techno music. Max had been a big fan of all things Japanese. Max would have loved it here. And every time Alec came across something that he thought Max would have gotten excited about, it hurt a little bit more.

They say time heals all wounds, but Alec disagreed. Maybe the grief would become more bearable with time, but Alec thought that was only because you got used to the fact that it hurt, and would always hurt. The memories would hit, and they would cut you, and maybe in time you forgot how it had felt like to be whole. 

The worst thing was, Max shouldn't even have been there on that pavement when the drunk driver had swerved out of nowhere, skidding on the icy roads, and slammed into him. Robert Lightwood was supposed to have gone to school to pick Max up after his Math Olympiad session, but Robert had forgotten about it because he had been too busy having sex with his secretary. If Max hadn't waited that half an hour in school for Robert before giving up and walking home, he wouldn't have died. If Robert Lightwood hadn't been such a sorry excuse for a father and husband, Max would still be alive.

Alec hadn't even been in the States when the accident had happened. He had been in Kathmandu, Nepal, volunteering with Projects Abroad at a teaching hospital as part of his gap year, before he came back to New York to join Columbia University's pre-med programme in the fall. He hadn't even made it back in time for the funeral.

Maybe if Alec hadn't gone off to Nepal, Max would still be alive. After all, it had originally been his job to pick Max up. 

Things had fallen apart pretty quickly after that. Max - baby of the family, most annoying little shit they had ever had the misfortune to know, math and comics nerd, rescuer of stray cats and dogs, and the only person in the family who remembered everybody else's coffee and ice cream preferences - he had been the glue that had held the disparate pieces of the Lightwood family together. He had been loved by everybody, and their desire to shield him from the ugly arguments was the only thing that had kept Maryse and Robert sitting at opposite ends of the same dinner table, politely passing the peas and mashed potatoes. Alec had been halfway through his four-week attachment in Nepal, but special arrangements had been made so he could come home earlier. By the time he was back in New York, the divorce papers had been filed and Maryse had kicked Robert out of the house. 

Max had died in early December. It had taken Maryse just a little under three months to pack what was left of their family off to Japan. 

Maryse cleared her throat and gave both Alec and Izzy a small smile. "Where's Jace?" she asked. Izzy shrugged, pushing her salad around her plate.

"Has he even been home?" Maryse sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah, he was home yesterday for a bit before he went out again," Alec replied, kicking Izzy under the table when she opened her mouth, probably to tell their mother that Jace had only been back in the apartment they all shared for a change of clothes. 

Alec had never been particularly close to Robert, especially not after he'd come out to his parents and Robert had been less than supportive. But Jace and Izzy had both been closer to Robert than to Maryse, and the divorce had been harder on them. Izzy, who was three years younger than Alec, had also been fiercely protective of Max, and had come over to Maryse's side of the war in a heartbeat. Things were a bit more complicated with Jace. He was the orphaned son of Robert's best friend, and had never really warmed up to Maryse. Robert's affair and easy acceptance that he would have nothing further to do with the children had been taken by Jace as a betrayal of the highest order. Jace had come along with them to Japan because he had no other family, but he was already 18 years old, and legally an adult. Unfortunately, he was a high-school drop-out with no marketable skills, and seemed to have no plans for his future other than to go out into the bright lights of wherever and lose himself in them. 

Maybe that was when the sleepless nights had started for Alec. His place at Columbia University was technically still there waiting for him come September, but how could he go back to New York? With Maryse throwing herself into her new job, someone had to be there for Izzy, who was starting at a new school. Someone had to make sure Jace wasn't getting himself in trouble. He couldn't let his family down again. 

"Oh, yes- Alec, was it you I heard coming in at six in the morning?" his mother asked.

Alec could have kicked himself. Usually he tried to be home earlier, way before his mother had to wake up for work, so that she didn't notice him coming in after wandering around aimlessly for a whole night. But last night with Magnus, he'd lost track of time. "Yeah. I just popped out to get some gum."

"At six in the morning?" Maryse frowned. Alec shrugged, and she let the matter go. "Anyway, I knew I promised you both I'd go to Universal Studios with you this weekend, but I have a work thing, and... maybe the three of you could go together - I mean with Jace."

"Actually, I can't. I totally forgot. I'm meeting a friend tomorrow," Alec said.

"A friend?" Izzy looked entirely too interested.

"I didn't know you knew anybody here," Maryse said.

"Oh, a new friend. He's from Brooklyn, and we just got talking, you know?" Alec said, avoiding Izzy's curious gaze. _She_ knew he spent most of the day cleaning the house, cooking for them both, and staring morosely at websites for med schools in Japan - hardly a way to meet new people. "He hasn't really had much time to look around Osaka yet either, so we thought we'd do the tourist thing together." 

"That sounds nice," Maryse said with a small encouraging smile. "I hope you have fun."

"Yeah, I hope so too," Alec replied.

 

 

When they had gone down to Dotonbori on Friday, quite a number of shops hadn't been open, so the idea had been to spend the better part of the evening there, and decide where to go from there. It was just after 4 o'clock when they arrived, but the streets were already packed with people, locals and tourists alike. 

It seemed that Dotonbori's reputation as Osaka's street-food paradise was not unfounded. They started off with _ramen_ from a street vendor, served on low tables on a carpeted platform right in front of the stall, where they had to remove their shoes and sit cross-legged to eat. They had crab legs grilled over a charcoal fire, although Alec found the enormous mechanical crab statue hanging over the shop - which was as tall as him and twice as wide - waving its pincers to beckon customers, slightly menacing. They had  _takoyaki_ topped with spring onions, pickled ginger and a half-cooked egg, and quail eggs and shrimp on a skewer, deep fried in breadcrumbs and batter (Magnus had a beer with that, which Alec declined). Magnus even convinced Alec to try slices of raw pufferfish or _fugu sashimi_ at a restaurant marked by a huge lantern in the shape of the poisonous fish, after both Magnus' and Alec's travel apps assured him that this was a reputable and safe place to sample the notorious Japanese delicacy.

After they had both eaten far too much, they joined the queue down by the canal for a boat ride down Dotonbori-gawa. The wind was chilly and the boat was an open craft with no shelter, but that also meant that it offered an unobstructed view of the sun setting just over the horizon, turning the sky into a muted palette of pink and orange fading into dusky blue. The lights from the neon billboards reflected blinding and sharp on the dark surface of the water. The tour guide spoke only in Japanese, and was apparently a _Rakugo_ comedian, but Magnus had promised to try and translate as best as he could. 

The engine of the boat hummed softly, cancelling out the sounds from both sides of the canal. After a while, Magnus gave up trying to translate the untranslatable jokes, and Alec let their guide's commentary and the occasional titters of laughter from the other passengers wash over him. Their journey would take them under several bridges along the canal - some of them obviously very old structures made of weathered wood, others incongruously modern things of chrome and steel, with circles of neon lights underneath like the underside of some alien spaceship. Lights in the shape of snowflakes - leftover Christmas decorations - were strapped to the safety railings on either side.

Then Alec spotted something that made him grin. "Hey - look at that," he said, nudging Magnus to point out a huge billboard advertising an energy drink - a drink apparently endorsed by Magnus himself.

Magnus yelped and hid his face in Alec's shoulder for a few seconds before emerging with a straight face and said nonchalantly, "Wow, when you blow up my face that big, you can really see all the flaws that I don't have." Alec snorted with laughter. 

"I guess my secret identity is out of the bag," Magnus joked.

"I saw you on TV last night," Alec admitted.

"Oh. You're not weirded out?"

Alec shrugged. "It's a part of who you already were when I met you. Doesn't change anything."

Magnus' lips quirked up in a small smile. "Well, now you know what I'm doing here, but I've just realised that I never did ask you what you do."

"Um, my mum took on a job here, so we moved with her."

"That explains why you moved here, but not what you're doing here," Magnus said.

"I was supposed to go to school in New York. But my parents had a divorce, and other stuff happened, so I guess we came here to get away from the bad memories," Alec said, deciding he didn't want to talk about Max just yet. "I'm not really doing anything at the moment." 

"Oh, that sucks. Sorry for being pushy."

"It's alright," Alec said, ducking his head. 

"What were you going to study in New York?" 

"Medicine." 

"Nice. Well, you can play doctor with me anytime," Magnus smirked, and Alec rolled his eyes. "You could always go back to New York on your own, right? I know graduate school must be pretty expensive, but I'm sure you could find cheap lodging on campus." 

"Not graduate school. I'm, uh, pre-med."

Magnus frowned. "Wait - doesn't that mean you've only just graduated from high school? How old are you? Eighteen?"

"Nineteen in September. I did a gap year, before... you know."

"Wow," Magnus said with a small laugh, looking slightly unnerved. "Now I feel like a cradle snatcher." 

"Why? How old are you?" Alec asked curiously.  

"Alexander! You don't ask a gentleman for his age if it isn't offered!" Magnus said in mock outrage. 

Alec rolled his eyes and took out his phone. "You're a celebrity. I bet I can Google it." 

Magnus snatched the phone out of his hand. "Uh-uh, no you don't. That was rude, Alexander!"

"Rude? Me? You're the one who took my phone!" Alec made a grab for his phone, but Magnus hid it behind his back, grinning. Alec frowned and made another grab at it, but Magnus kept it out of reach, until Alec realised with a blush that his arms were practically around Magnus. He huffed and pulled back abruptly. "Forget it. You're obviously about 8 years old," he grumbled, and Magnus threw his head back and laughed out loud.

 

 

After the boat ride, Magnus tried to convince Alec to go into a _pachinko_ parlour, then a karaoke bar, all of which Alec laughingly refused. In the end, they ended up getting coffee at the convenience store again, sitting at one of the tables and chatting.

"I should go back a little earlier today. My mum will be worried," Alec told Magnus apologetically, and tried joking, "I'm not sure I managed to convince her that you aren't actually a serial killer."

"Ok," Magnus said with barely a hint of a smile, draining his cup of coffee. When they got to the pavement outside, he slipped Alec's phone back into the pocket of Alec's jacket. Alec had almost forgotten about it.

"I'll see you around?" Alec asked, and Magnus nodded with a slightly melancholy smile. Alec watched Magnus walk back to his hotel, waving at Alec without turning around, and frowned.

When Alec got home, he sat on his bed staring at his laptop for a while before he caved. It _did_ feel a little rude, Googling Magnus like this - like an invasion of privacy, because for whatever reason, Magnus hadn't felt comfortable sharing his age with Alec. The first hit was wikipedia, and Alec didn't even have to open the link to see Magnus' age. He had assumed Magnus was in his early twenties, but apparently Magnus would be 28 years old in December. He was almost a decade older than Alec, an age difference that did seem a little bit daunting when Alec was technically still a teenager. No wonder he'd freaked out.

Alec worried his bottom lip. He certainly hadn't felt those nine years between them today, when they'd been walking around joking and exploring. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed his phone, typed out a message to Magnus, and hit send: "Same time, same place tomorrow?"

Magnus replied almost immediately: "Last one to reach buys the coffee." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Takoyaki_ is a ball of fried batter with a piece of octopus in it. And eating _fugu_ or pufferfish that has not been properly prepared can kill you. Chefs have to undergo three years of training to get the certification to serve the fish.
> 
> _Rakugo_ comedians are a bit like stand-up comedians, but it's also a traditional form of Japanese storytelling.
> 
> I mentioned _pachinko_ in the previous chapter, but I suppose I should explain that it's like a vertical pinball machine, and it's used in gambling - a bit like the Japanese equivalent of a slot machine, I guess. The legal age for playing _pachinko_ in Japan is 17.
> 
>  
> 
> Updates may be a bit slow, because I've gone off my rocker and decided it was a good idea to write three fics at the same time :P But I'll definitely be updating at least once a week.


	4. Chapter 4

 

"You know, I actually managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep on Saturday night - well, Sunday morning," Magnus told him cheerfully, the next time they met. "I'm almost certain that's all thanks to you."

"Or it could have been the boat trip, or the beer - or just that my company is really boring," Alec noted. 

"So modest, Alexander," Magnus laughed. "And I'll have you know that nothing about you is boring."

If Alec was being honest, he'd also been catching a little more sleep lately, even if it was from dozing off in the afternoons from attempting to teach himself Japanese. Izzy had found him face down and sprawled over a textbook one afternoon after she came home from school, and stole one of his earbuds to find out what he was listening to before he was properly awake enough to stop her.

"Japanese R&B? Really?" Izzy frowned as Alec snatched the earbud back from her. "Since when do you even listen to R&B?"

"Listening to music is supposed to be a fun way to learn a new language," Alec said defensively. 

Izzy snorted. "Yeah, right. As if you ever went about doing things the fun way. Is the singer hot, is that it?" she asked. "What's his name?" 

"Magnus Bane," Alec replied, deciding that it would raise Izzy's suspicions even more if he tried to be secretive about it.  

"Is that his real name or a stage name?" Izzy asked, already tapping it into her phone.  

"His real name, I think," Alec shrugged. 

"Oooh, good taste, big brother - he's a hottie," Izzy said approvingly, presumably scrolling through the photos online. "He doesn't look Japanese, though."

"He's not," Alec replied tersely. "He's American."

"American? That's interesting, what's he doing over here then? Let's check out his page on Wikipedia!"

Alec shrugged, feigning disinterest - it wasn't like he hadn't already read that a dozen times.  

"Oh, you're right, he is American. 'Magnus Bane resides in Brooklyn-'" Izzy read on, then frowned. "Wait, Brooklyn? Is he the new friend you've just made?" 

Alec hesitated, then nodded. 

"Oh my god! You're dating a celebrity!" Izzy squealed. 

"We're not _dating_ ," Alec huffed. "Magnus and I are just friends, ok?" 

"'Just friends'," Izzy scoffed. "If you'd only seen your face when you came home that night after your date. How did you even meet him, anyway?" 

"Bumped into him at a convenience store. It's really not as exciting as you think," Alec said in exasperation. 

"A convenience store? You mean when you go out in the middle of the night every night?" Izzy asked. 

He should have known Izzy had noticed him going out. Alec nodded, but Izzy's frown just got deeper. 

"Alec - when you say 'convenience store' - please don't tell me you've been meeting this guy in those hourly-rate love hotels to have sex."  

"What?!" Alec sputtered. "No! What the hell?! I'm not meeting him to have sex! We really are just meeting at the convenience store for coffee!" 

"Meeting at the convenience store for coffee?" Izzy repeated incredulously. "Alec, you don't have to lie to me about sex, ok? I'm old enough to know this stuff, and it's not like I've never-" 

"And I'm just going to stop you right there, because I _do not_ need to know, ok?" Alec said quickly. 

"Just... be careful, alright?" Izzy said worriedly.  

When Alec mentioned this conversation to Magnus, Magnus had been highly amused and immediately suggested that they go check out a love hotel for the heck of it. "But I've always wanted to go to one, and it'd be weird if I went by myself," Magnus said, trying to make puppy-dog eyes at Alec. 

"Why would you even want to go to a love hotel?" Alec asked, hoping that it wasn't completely obvious that his heart felt like it was going at double the normal speed. "You say that like it's a tourist attraction." 

"It's all part of the tourist experience. They look so fun! I saw one in a photo book once that was Hello Kitty BDSM themed..." 

Magnus had spent the next half hour regaling Alec with descriptions of all the weird love hotel decor he had seen in the book, which somehow evolved into a discussion about how small Japanese apartments were. And maybe Alec had been a tiny bit disappointed that for all his flirting, Magnus hadn't seemed at all interested in going with Alec to the love hotel for the reason Izzy had feared. Just a little bit.

  

 

It was one in morning, when Magnus was lying in bed waiting for a reasonable time to walk to the convenience store to meet Alec and listening to the neighbour's bed banging rhythmically against the wall, that Magnus started wondering if he was actually a really terrible person. 

The problem with this whole thing with Alec, was that it turned Magnus into a mess of contradictions. It made him impatient yet fearful, excited yet apprehensive. He wanted them to get to the point faster, but he was enjoying the quiet and steady friendship they were developing and was worried about ruining it if they tried to become more than friends.

When he stopped to think about their age difference, he was surprised Alec hadn't been turned off by it, but when he was caught up in the moment with Alec he forgot that distance even existed between them at all. He supposed it was because Alec was 18-going-on-30, and (according to Ragnor) Magnus was 30-going-on-18; so they were uniquely matched, really. But even if the age difference wasn't an issue there was still the fact that Magnus would be leaving Japan in a little less than nine weeks' time. He didn't want this to be just a fling, but that was all he could commit to. It didn't seem fair to Alec to start something when Magnus was just going to leave and break his heart. Alec deserved so much better. 

Three months had seemed like an eternity before he'd met Alec. Now it felt like hardly enough time. They met almost every night, and Magnus remembered from his schedule that he had two working weekends, which left them with seven weekends together. Magnus was determined not to overthink it and just enjoy every single moment with Alec, for as long as Alec was willing. And then, maybe if Alec ever came back to New York, they could be something more. 

That being said, there was no harm pretending, right? As long as both of them were clear that it was just pretend. As long as it was just one date. Gods, who was he kidding?

"You want us to pretend to be boyfriends so that we can spend the night in an aquarium," Alec repeated skeptically.

"Well, the sessions are usually only open to elementary school children," Magnus shrugged. "We'd get to see how the ocean creatures behave at night, I thought it'd be the sort of thing you would be interested in. And I thought it might help both of us with our little sleeping problem too - watching fishes swim by, listening to the water... sounds soothing, doesn't it?"

"It does sound nice," Alec conceded.

"I'm hearing a 'but' in there," Magnus raised an eyebrow, then added quickly. "We don't have to do it if you don't want to." 

"Nothing. It's fine," Alec shrugged. 

"Besides, you know how the Japanese are about PDA, so we won't even have to kiss," Magnus had said jokingly, and Alec had hummed in agreement, sounding slightly distracted, or... disappointed? 

He had meant to keep this platonic, but all he was doing was hurting Alec anyway. He knew he was going to have to tell Alec that he wasn't staying in Osaka for the long term, but if he did that, then maybe Alec really would walk away from him. And Magnus just wanted to hold on to this, whatever this was, for a little while longer.

 

 

They had dinner at the nearby Tempozan Marketplace, and Alec took far too many photos of Magnus doing ridiculous poses with the life-sized sculptures of whale sharks made out of wire netting and fairy lights that decorated the park outside of the Osaka Kaiyukan. They even managed to catch the laser light show projected on the front of the aquarium, featuring leaping dolphins, scuttling giant spider crabs and soaring manta rays, before it was time for the night tour to start.

There were only three couples on the tour, including them. Magnus had considered holding Alec's hand at first, to help with their charade, but if he started he wasn't sure he could bring himself to let go, so he didn't.

They started all the way at the top of the eight-storey aquarium, at an exhibit done up to look like a Japanese forest, which housed animals like otters, seals and sea lions. The lights in the aquarium had gone off at 5pm to match the circadian rhythms of the animals, so most of them had settled down to rest for the night. Their tour guide, who was armed with a torch, then led them in the near-darkness down a spiral ramp that went round the huge central exhibit - a tank named the "Pacific Ocean", which spanned four floors and served as the home for the star attractions of the aquarium, the whale sharks. Along the way, they also passed smaller tanks filled with pulsing translucent jellyfish lit up by multicoloured lights, and seasonal exhibits showcasing creatures from the Pacific region. 

When they reached the base of the huge tank, their guide then pointed out the sleeping bags they had been allocated, and advised them to turn in early because they would be brought around to observe the morning routine of the keepers after an early breakfast the next day. 

Magnus imagined this was how it would feel like if you were lying at the bottom of the ocean. The huge central tank was lit by a single dim lamp that was supposed to mimic moonlight, throwing most of the tank in deep shadow and washing the exhibition hall in rippling shades of blue. Most of the fish were presumably sleeping, hovering just above the sandy floor of the tank or hidden amongst crevices in the decorative rocks. But others, like the gigantic whale sharks, were still meandering dreamily through the water. Magnus and Alec lay side by side, watching the silhouettes of fish drift by. The other two couples were whispering quietly in Japanese, but after a while Magnus heard them saying goodnight, and the sounds tapered off - leaving them alone with just the quiet gurgle of the water in the tanks.

"Magnus, why can't you sleep?" Alec asked suddenly in a low voice.

"Are you going to give me a diagnosis, Dr Lightwood?" Magnus teased.

"Have you actually gone to see a doctor?"

"No. Have you?"

"You're avoiding the question, Magnus."

Magnus was lying on his back looking straight ahead - he couldn't see the ceiling in the darkness, it was so high above their heads. He felt like they should have put some fake stars on the ceiling, although the lack of visible stars was true to city life, he guessed. "Do you know that I used to write my own songs?" 

"But... you still do. I mean, you're credited as the composer on all the songs in your album."

"You bought my album?" Magnus turned to look at Alec in surprise, and it was Alec's turn to look away. Magnus grinned. "I could autograph it for you." 

Alec snorted. "Stop trying to change the topic."

"Fine. Well... I used to write the lyrics too, but now I don't."

"And?"

"And it feels like I sold out," Magnus admitted bluntly. "I feel like a performing monkey, dancing around for a pay cheque."

"Would you be happier if you went back to the States to do your own music?" 

"That's the problem - I wasn't happy then, either," Magnus sighed. "The sleeping problems weren't this bad, but I was drunk half the time. Nobody wants to listen to my music in the States. At least when I'm here, I have the excuse that most Japanese only really listen to Japanese language songs, you know?" 

"I liked the English song you had on this album," Alec said earnestly. "It was my favourite. I mean, it was all good, and I don't know much about music, but it was so different from the run-of-the-mill stuff you hear on the radio."

"That's very kind of you, Alexander. Thank you." They were both silent for a while, then Magnus asked, "What about you? Why can't you sleep?" 

Alec took a deep breath, then all his words came out in a rush, like he was hoping they'd hurt less if he said them quickly. "My little brother was run down by a drunk driver."

"Shit. I'm so sorry," Magnus said, and he reached for Alec's hand without thinking. 

Alec startled at first, then intertwined his fingers with Magnus'. "I've always wanted to be a doctor, you know. Since I was seven. But... I couldn't save my brother. The doctors couldn't save my brother."

"Oh, Alexander," Magnus said softly, rubbing his thumb soothingly along the edge of Alec's thumb.  

"I wasn't even there. I was off playing at being a doctor in fucking _Nepal,_ " Alec said, and Magnus had never heard him sound so bitter before.

"There was nothing you could have done. It wasn't your fault," Magnus told him gently. 

"What's the point of me studying to become a doctor, if I can't even save the ones I love?"

There was no easy answer to that, so Magnus said instead, "I have a friend who is a nurse - Catarina. Most of the time she's exhausted beyond belief, but still she gets up every day and does it anyway. And she's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever known. So maybe that's why you wanted to be a doctor - because you have a big heart too, Alexander, and so much love to give."

Alec didn't answer, but he squeezed Magnus' hand a little tighter. Magnus didn't remember falling asleep after that, but they must have, because they woke up a few hours later still holding hands. And neither of them let go for the rest of the tour, or even after that.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book Magnus is talking about is _Love Hotels_ by American photographer Misty Keasler. If you google that, images you find are likely to be NSFW (even if they are just photos of empty rooms) - you have been warned ;) Travelling pro tip: love hotels are actually a good option for budget travellers, because you can get a big room with a jacuzzi and fancy stuff like that at a very low price. But probably don't go around the room with a blacklight... XD
> 
> Some artistic license taken with Magnus and Alec going to the aquarium on the couple package. Japan is pretty LGBTQA+ friendly for an asian country, but it's very much a "don't ask don't tell" culture. Traditionally Japan does have a pretty open mindset towards queer relationships because the main religions (Shintoism and Buddhism) don't oppose homosexual relations, and in fact there are many celebrated examples of such relationships in traditional art and literature. But when Japan became open to Western influence during the Meiji restoration, it also took on the West's disapproving stance towards queer relationships. Currently, though, Japan is gradually moving back to its previous acceptance of queer relationships, and the big cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido do recognise same-sex marriages and LGBTQA+ rights. Osaka is actually pretty queer-friendly, possibly more so than Tokyo, and there's an area called Doyama-cho with a lot of gay bars and nice restaurants that welcome LGBTQA+ clientele. TL;DR - the aquarium may or may not have accepted a same-sex couple for the couple package.


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

When Alec got home, he was still feeling a bit like he was floating around like one of those blobby jellyfish in the tanks at the aquarium, and probably equally brainless because there was only one thing on his mind. He knew he was grinning like a lunatic, but quickly tamped it down long enough to shut himself up in his room before anybody saw him - especially Izzy, who would have a million questions, and had actually seemed quite disapproving when he'd mentioned staying out overnight with Magnus.

He stayed in his room until it was time for dinner - spaghetti bolognese, Maryse's go-to dinner when she was too tired but felt like she ought to cook. By then he'd managed to get a handle on his giddy delight, and he thought he managed to behave quite normally while he helped Izzy set the table. Much to their surprise, there was a sound of a key in the apartment door, and Jace stepped in.

"Jace!" Maryse said, with forced cheer. "You're just in time for dinner."

Jace glanced at the dinner table and wrinkled his nose. "Great. My favourite," Jace said flatly.

"Where have you been?" Alec asked, because he knew nobody else would.

"Book club," Jace replied without missing a beat. Izzy snorted and Alec rolled his eyes, and Maryse just tried to smooth out her frown.

They settled down to dinner, and after a few minutes of silence, Izzy turned on the television. Alec could feel Izzy's eyes on him, but he refused to look up from his plate. Whatever she wanted to ask probably wasn't going to be meant for Maryse's ears anyway, which meant the best strategy was to eat the fastest, dump his plate in the dishwasher, and escape to his room before Izzy had eaten enough to be allowed to leave the table. 

Maryse cleared her throat. "Alec, I think I should like to meet this new friend of yours. Magnus, wasn't it?" Maryse asked, and Alec almost choked on his food.

"What?" Alec wheezed while Izzy thumped him on the back. 

"Your new friend, the one from Brooklyn. Why don't you ask him to join us for dinner?"

"Isn't that... I think it's a bit soon to be inviting him around for dinner," Alec replied.  

"Why?" Maryse asked in surprise. "We used to have your friends from school over to dinner all the time, during the first term of school. Don't you remember our little parties? Of course we don't have as much space now, but I could still do some authentic American bacon burgers and home-cut fries. I thought Izzy could invite some of her new schoolmates too, and Jace could invite his, um, book club."

"Well, Magnus isn't... He's not just a friend. He's my boyfriend," Alec explained quietly.  

"Oh!" Maryse's face froze in a slightly comical look of surprise.  

"Oh my god!" Izzy squealed. "Really?!" 

Alec nodded, and winced when Izzy squealed even louder, but he couldn't help smiling at her enthusiastic congratulations. Jace's expression remained blank, stabbing at his spaghetti like it had personally offended him.  

"Well, then all the more reason to invite him to dinner," Maryse finally said when she had recovered, smiling warmly at Alec. "But without Izzy and Jace's new friends, of course. Maybe we could meet Magnus first. How about next weekend?" 

Alec smiled back, the knot in his chest loosening. "He has work next weekend. Maybe the week after? I'll ask."

"Great!" Maryse replied, and she was still smiling a bit when she collected the plates to put them in the dishwasher.

 

 

Alec had assumed this meant he would be left alone for the rest of the evening, and hadn't bothered locking the door - so of course Jace had decided to barge in without knocking, as he always did.

"Hey."

"Hey," Alec replied, putting a bookmark to mark his place in one of the medical textbooks he had gotten in preparation for college months ago, but hadn't really touched since they moved to Japan.

Jace sat down at the edge of Alec's bed, and looked down at his hands, which were clasped together, the fingers curling and uncurling with restless energy. Jace had been Alec's best friend growing up, but they hardly talked these days, and it was something that had started happening even before Max's death. Alec missed having his best friend a little bit, but mostly he wondered if it was possible to outgrow your best friend. They had always been very different people, and it hadn't seemed to matter much when they had been young. But now that they were older it had begun to creep up on Alec that they had no common interests, didn't have the same friends, and didn't even seem to have the same outlook on life. All their shared memories meant Jace would always be his brother, even if they weren't technically related - but best friends? There was a time when they would have said they knew exactly what each other was thinking just from a look or a gesture, but now Alec had no idea why Jace was in his room, other than that he probably wanted to talk about something, because he was nervous and talking about serious issues always made Jace nervous. 

"So. This Magnus guy. You guys being safe?"

It took a while for Alec to catch on to what Jace was talking about. "What the hell, Jace? Are you seriously giving me a talk about safe sex? Who the hell do you think you are?" Alec snapped. "I'm studying to be a _doctor_. Besides, it's not like that with Magnus."

"Yeah, sure. You're just meeting this guy for coffee, just like I'm just staying out overnight discussing books."

"Amazingly enough, not everyone lies about what they're doing with their lives. You should try it," Alec sniped. "And you can tell Izzy to mind her own business, because I can take care of myself. And that goes for you too."

"Shit, are you actually serious about this guy?" Jace said, suddenly agitated. "I thought you'd just found a fuck buddy to get rid of your pesky virginity problem."

"My- You know what, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," Alec said, annoyance rapidly becoming actual anger. 

"He's almost ten years older than you, dude. And have you seen who his exes are? Camille Belcourt - movie star. Imasu Morales - that alternative rock guy Izzy was really into a couple of years ago. Etta Marie Saint - singer and actress," Jace scoffed. 

"So? Those relationships obviously didn't work out, so why would he be looking for more of the same?" Alec scowled. 

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Jace said a little scornfully. "Let's be real - you may be the one with the fancy grades, but when it comes to things like these, I'm the experienced one. He obviously has a type - rich, more famous than him, and basically not you. And I'm telling you right now, that this guy just wants to get in your pants." 

"You don't know anything about Magnus, you don't even know him!" Alec growled.  

"I don't know him, but I've known plenty of guys _like_ him. It's plain as day," Jace shrugged. "Besides, how well do _you_ know him? You've known him for, what, two weeks?" 

"And that's why we're dating - so we can get to know each other better," Alec pointed out. 

"You didn't say 'dating' at dinner - you said boyfriend. That implies there's already a committed relationship."

"Whatever. What difference do all these labels make?" Alec frowned. "We're seeing each other, and we're not seeing anyone else." 

"Did he actually say this, or are you just assuming that he isn't seeing other people on the side?" Jace asked shrewdly. 

Alec glared at Jace, refusing to drop his gaze. So what if they hadn't exactly gone into the details? It was a relationship, not a contract with fine print to be signed by both parties in triplicate. After the aquarium tour, they'd gone for an early lunch where Magnus kept stealing food off Alec’s plate (and Alec had retaliated by stealing stuff from Magnus until it'd become a lowkey food fight, and he wasn't even embarrassed that all the other people in the café had been sneaking glances at them). They'd shared some ridiculous fancy ice cream layered with fruits and piled high with whipped cream even though it was still pretty cold out. And after that they'd strolled around hand in hand, and Magnus had given Alec a heads up about his work schedule for the next few weeks with an apology that he'd have to miss their usual weekend date, and then Magnus had kissed Alec on the cheek when they'd said goodbye. They didn't have to _discuss_ it - it was obvious that the tone of their relationship had shifted from platonic to romantic. 

"Come on, Alec. This guy is obviously a social climber. You're a great guy, but you're not what he's looking for. You deserve better." 

"I think I can decide for myself what I 'deserve', thank you," Alec replied curtly.

Jace threw his hands up in defeat. "Don't say I didn't warn you when you end up being nothing more than another notch on this guy's bedpost."

"Fuck off," Alec spat out. 

Alec scowled at Jace until he left the room and slammed the door behind him. Alec flipped his textbook open, but he couldn't concentrate. He picked up his phone, hesitated for a moment, then sent Magnus a message.

 

 

Meanwhile, Magnus was frantically dialing Ragnor even though he knew it was 5am in New York, and Ragnor was going to kill him.

"I WAS SLEEPING!" Ragnor bellowed over the phone. 

"Ragnor, I'm screwed," Magnus said.

Ragnor was silent on the other end for a beat, then he said in a calmer voice, "Please tell me you didn't go and start an affair with Dot."

Magnus snorted at that. "Ragnor, you should know me better than that. I don't do married people."

"Then what is it?"

"I started seeing someone."

“Is this someone at least 18?"

"Ragnor! What kind of person do you take me for?"

"If they're of age, I don't see why you're freaking out."

"I'm leaving Japan in nine weeks!" Magnus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I haven't even told him that. And he tells me his mother wants me to come to family dinner. This wasn't meant to get serious so quickly."

"Well, do you _want_ this to be something serious?" Ragnor asked him. 

"Yes," Magnus finally said. "God, yes."

"Then make it work," Ragnor said pragmatically. "Turn on the charm for his mother. Go make those banana fritters Catarina likes so much and bring them to this dinner for dessert. Convince the boy to commit to a long distance relationship, or move to New York, whatever."

"He _was_ from New York," Magnus said with a nervous laugh. "And I live in a fucking hotel room, how am I supposed to make _pisang goreng_?"

"You're quibbling on the details, my friend."

"You're supposed to be the sensible one and tell me what a bad idea this is, then talk me out of this, not talk me _through_ this," Magnus moaned. 

Ragnor snorted. "What would be the point? You've never taken my advice, you just want someone to rant and moan to when you've already made up your mind. And the way I see it, it's a win-win situation - if you manage to keep this relationship, you'll actually be happy, and if it doesn't work out, you'll have plenty of inspiration for your music."

"You suck!" Magnus shouted down the line, and Ragnor was still laughing when he put down the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Alec was a bundle of nerves days before Magnus was even supposed to come by for dinner with the Lightwoods. He had hoped that Jace would be out of the house that day, but it seemed that Jace was determined to annoy him and had stayed home the whole day, slouching on the couch in front of the television and ignoring Alec’s glowering. When he received Magnus' message that he was walking in from the bus stop, Alec ran downstairs to meet him. 

"You didn't need to come down to escort me," Magnus laughed, though he sounded pleased. 

"I thought I should warn you - my brother Jace is probably going to be complete jerk at dinner."

"It's ok. He's probably just feeling a bit protective - if the tables were turned, I'm pretty sure _my_ best friend Ragnor would be on your case too," Magnus shrugged. "Don't worry yourself about it."

Izzy was beside herself with excitement to meet Magnus, but had been careful not to mention Magnus' occupation even as she gushed over his shoes and clothes. (Izzy and Alec had agreed that Maryse might need to be eased into that, and Alec was grateful that he had one ally in this, at least.) Maryse was obviously a bit taken aback by Magnus' flamboyant appearance, but didn't comment on it, accepting the cheesecake Magnus had brought for dessert politely. 

"It's supposed to be the most famous cheesecake place in Osaka - the line was insane," Magnus said.

"Oh, you shouldn't have gone to the trouble. I'm sure you're a busy man," Maryse said. 

"If you can take the time out of _your_ busy schedule to make burgers and fries from scratch, this was the least I could do," Magnus assured her. "By the way, your cooking smells fabulous, Mrs Lightwood."

"Call me Maryse, please. And I'm sure the most famous cheesecake place in Osaka will live up to the hype," Maryse smiled. 

"Then again they were going for 588 yen each, so that might have been part of the reason why they were so popular," Magnus joked. 

"Cheapskate," Jace muttered very audibly. 

Alec whipped around to glare at his brother, but Magnus put a comforting hand on his arm and pretended he hadn't heard anything. Izzy immediately made her way towards Jace and whispered something to him furiously. 

Maryse cleared her throat awkwardly. "Dinner will be ready soon. Why don't you take a seat?" 

"I'll help you set the table," Magnus offered. 

"Suck up," Jace muttered again, slightly louder this time, and barely flinched when Izzy punched him in the arm. 

"You're absolutely right," Magnus replied cheerfully, apparently deciding to deal with Jace's hostility head on. "I'm meeting my boyfriend's mother for the first time - of course I'm sucking up!" 

Maryse laughed a bit at that and passed Magnus the plates. 

Over dinner, which was served on paper plates with disposable utensils because they hadn't really bothered buying many proper plates when they'd moved to Japan, Alec and Izzy tried to steer the conversation towards safe topics - Magnus' favourite place in New York (the view from Brooklyn bridge), his family (deceased, but it was a long time ago), and friends (Ragnor, Catarina, and Raphael). If Magnus noticed that they seemed to be pointedly avoiding certain areas of his life, he didn't comment on it. But Alec knew that his mother hadn't gotten to where she was without being a shrewd business woman, and it was only a matter of time before she started asking the questions they were so clearly trying to avoid. And there was also the fact that Jace was a time-bomb of awkward questions waiting to go off, having clearly Googled Magnus enough to know exactly what topics were going to be contentious.

"So what is it that you do, Magnus?" Maryse finally asked when Alec was off in the kitchen getting out the dessert. Alec cursed under his breath and tried not to panic, scrambling to find the disposable forks and extra paper plates.

"I'm in music," Magnus replied easily.

"Oh, that's nice. I thought it might be something like that. You look like the creative type," Maryse replied, and Alec frowned, trying to decide if that was a positive or negative response. Robert Lightwood had been very leery of occupations that he felt were glorified hobbies, but he wasn't sure he had ever heard his mother voice any opinion on that.

Alec was walking out of the kitchen when Jace snidely contributed, "Oh, don't be modest. Magnus is a little bit of a celebrity here in Japan, isn't he?"

"Really?" Maryse asked, and it was obvious that even Magnus caught the note of worry in her voice.

"Oh, for the most part it's just a job like any other. It doesn't interfere with my daily life, and the paparazzi in Japan is nothing like back in the States," Magnus said, immediately guessing the reason for Maryse's concern.

It took all of Alec's self-control not to slam the plates and cake down on the table, but it would have taken a better man than him not to glare at Jace. Jace ignored him and made a face at the cake.

"You call this cheesecake? And what's with the raisins?" he asked.

"Japanese cheesecake is quite different from what we're used to in New York," Magnus agreed, still managing to sound cordial, and Alec couldn't help feeling a bit smug that Jace was just making himself look like a brat in the face of Magnus' calm poise. 

Magnus helped Alec serve the cake, but Alec knew that from her expression, Maryse was still thinking about what Jace had said about Magnus being a celebrity. It wasn't even like the Lightwoods had any skeletons in their closet - being associated with Magnus wasn't going to drag their family into the spotlight, but even if it did there wasn't any dirt to dig up. Alec had no doubt, though, that Maryse was going to be Googling Magnus once she had some time to herself.

"What made you decide to come to Japan? I take it you're not Japanese?" Maryse asked Magnus.

"No... it's just the way things happened to turn out," Magnus shrugged. "I'm not sure how it happened, myself."

"Must be nice to finally have a career after so many years," Jace said. "You didn't go to college, did you?"

"I did, actually," Magnus smiled. "I know it's not in my Wikipedia page, but I did get a degree, just in case - in International Business, believe it or not."

That piqued Maryse's interest, and Magnus and Maryse started talking about that for a bit until Jace cut in with, "I'm surprised you still remember that much - it's been a long time since college, hasn't it?"

Maryse looked surprised, then wary. "I didn't peg you as older than 25."

"I'm 27," Magnus said.

"But 28 after his birthday this year," Jace supplied helpfully, and Maryse's expression hardened a bit.  

"What is your problem?!" Izzy hissed at Jace.

"No problem at all," Jace replied, shrugging. "Older is great. So much more experience, in more ways than one - isn't that right?"

Alec could have punched Jace in the face right then. "You're out of line," he growled. "Magnus is my boyfriend, and if you have a problem with him, you have a problem with me."

"Alexander," Magnus said in a soothing tone. "It's fine."

"No. Actually it's not," Maryse said, voice hard. "What are your intentions with my son?"

"Are we in the Victorian era now?" Alec asked in exasperation. "I'm an _adult_. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions. And how is it that it's not ok for me to date Magnus, but it's ok for Jace to go out and sleep around with whoever-"

"You're right, I should keep a firmer hand on Jace. But this is about _you_ , not about Jace," Maryse replied. "And I didn't say that it's not ok for you to be together, I'm just worried. You must realise how this looks."

"Maryse - I understand your concerns. And yes, this is all very new, for both me and Alexander," Magnus said. "But if I wasn't serious about this relationship, I wouldn't be here, trying to make an effort."

"Yes, that's fair enough," Maryse conceded. 

"Unless - he's just going the extra mile because Alec isn't putting out," Jace said.

"That's _enough_ from you," Maryse snapped at Jace.

"You're taking _his_ side?" Jace asked incredulously. "You know, I thought for once that this was something we'd finally be able to agree on - protecting your precious Alec."

"This is not about taking anybody's side. Magnus is a guest, and he's important to Alec. You were unacceptably rude," Maryse said firmly. "Now apologise to Magnus."

"And if I don't, what are you going to do? Ground me?" Jace sneered and got up from the table. "Don't wait up." He sauntered out of the main door and slammed it shut. He was lucky he'd made himself scarce - Alec was practically trembling with the urge to go after Jace and punch his lights out, held back only by Magnus' and Izzy's encouraging and supportive looks.

"I'm so sorry about Jace," Maryse said with a tight smile at Magnus.

"It's alright," Magnus said.

The rest of the meal was tense, even though they kept to safer conversation topics. Alec hardly tasted any of the cake he was angrily eating, which was probably a shame. 

 

 

Deciding that Alec needed some cheering up after the disastrous family dinner, Magnus appeared at Alec's doorstep the next night they had a date, instead of waiting for him at their usual convenience store.

"Magnus? What are you doing here?" Alec whispered in bewilderment, quickly shutting the door behind him so their voices wouldn't wake the rest of his family. He was already dressed to go out - obviously Maryse's and Jace's objections hadn't been enough to deter him. Magnus felt a little bit guilty about causing the rift, but also selfishly glad that Alec was choosing _him_.

"Do you have access to the roof of your apartment building?" Magnus asked Alec.

"What? I don't know, to be honest. Why?"

"Let's go up and take a look, shall we?" Magnus said with a mysterious smile.

There was a "No Entry" sign on the door, but the door wasn't locked, so they went through the door anyway. It was just a rectangle of concrete with a chest-high ledge all around and a couple of empty pots of dirt that would presumably hold plants when the weather got warmer. The building wasn't very tall either, and they weren't in a very picturesque part of town, but it was late enough that there was hardly any traffic around, and the sky was clear and cloudless, like they were in a small bubble of serenity - a bubble that they were most definitely going to burst, if Magnus had it his way. Magnus made a soft sound of satisfaction and opened the bag in his hands. 

"I couldn't possibly let these off at the hotel, so I figured your place would be better."

"Where did you even get these?" Alec asked, looking like he was torn between being disapproving and excited.

"At a convenience store, of course," Magnus beamed. "I found them stashed in a corner - must have been left over from last summer. I hope they still work."

"Are they even legal?"

"Yes, Alexander," Magnus laughed. "I didn't exactly get them off some shady guy in a dark alley. Fireworks are more popular in the summer, but nobody's going to complain. Much."

"I highly doubt so, considering it's one in the morning," Alec said wryly, but came forward anyway to help Magnus unpack his loot.

"Have you ever done this?" Magnus asked. "Fourth of July, that sort of thing?"

"No. I think my parents were worried we'd set fire to something or blow our own hands off," Alec replied, examining the different packages curiously.

"Me neither. Always wanted to, though."

"Then let's do this," Alec said with a grin.

Magnus had bought a bit of everything. There were long colourful sticks that were supposed to change colour as they burnt; little rainbow coils that spun dizzily on the floor when they were lit; small winged ones with a picture of a  _ninja_  on them, that actually flew a little way off the ground in a circle when they went off; stringy ones that Alec said he recognised from his little brother's comics, more like gently fizzling sparklers with a tiny fireball at the very tip; and a few boxes that each contained a squat cylinder that reminded Magnus of dynamite sticks in cartoons, and made Alec nervous - so they'd saved those for the last, just in case they had to dump a bucket of water on everything if it got out of hand.

The fireworks were pretty noisy, but nobody came up to scold them, so by the time they were halfway through Magnus' stash Alec had relaxed enough that he was laughing just as merrily as Magnus as they tried to get out of the way of the little spinning fireworks, which were Magnus' favourite so far. When they were finally down to the dynamite-looking ones, they decided to set them all up in a row and set them off all at once, but the fireworks remained disappointingly dormant.

"They can't all have been duds..." Alec muttered, going closer - then there was a sudden sharp fizzling sound, and the wicks caught. "Oh crap!" Alec yelped and quickly got out of the way when one firework almost went off in his face, shooting sparks up into the sky.

"Are you ok?" Magnus asked, examining Alec's hands and face closely.

"Yeah, it didn't get me," Alec assured him, sounding distracted. 

They stood there watching the fireworks, the fountain of sparks almost as tall as Alec. "This one's really pretty, huh?" Magnus asked, and turned to Alec to find that he wasn't looking at the fireworks at all. Alec was staring at him, the sparks from the fireworks reflected in his eyes like shooting stars.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked Magnus, nervous but determined.

"Of course," Magnus replied softly, and held his breath as Alec moved in closer. Why was his heart pounding in his chest like that, as if he was being kissed for the first time?

Alec ducked his head down slightly awkwardly, hazel eyes _so_ close, meeting Magnus' own eyes for a split second before they fluttered shut - and kissed Magnus. It was soft and chaste, a question of a kiss - so Magnus answered the question for him, surging forward to deepen the kiss. They kissed until the fireworks fizzled out all too quickly, leaving them standing in the semi-darkness of the city's never-dimming neon lights. And then they kissed again, and again, until they were both breathless and grinning at each other. 

After that, while they were being responsible and considerate citizens and picking up all the trash from their little fireworks party, Alec said, "That was really fun. I think Izzy and Jace and even my mum would enjoy it too. We should do this again, when it's actually summer."

Magnus tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, stomach dropping suddenly like he had crashed-landed from a great height. He would be back in New York by summer - and he _was_ going to tell Alec at some point, but he couldn't tell Alec _now_. Not after they'd just shared their first kiss, not so recently after all that drama with Alec's family, and preferably before all the lies and excuses he was telling himself caught up with him, with _them_.

"Yeah. Sounds great," Magnus said.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Was beta-ing some stuff for other people. Can't wait to share the stuff coming out from the SH Hiatus Big Bang in March with you guys! It's going to be lit AF :) 
> 
> Japanese cheesecake is more like a sponge cake. 
> 
> Fun fact: International Business was what Harry studied in college. 
> 
> There's actually a proper order for playing handheld fireworks ( _temochi hanabi_ ), but of course Magnus and Alec wouldn't have known it. The sparklers, _senko hanabi_ , are meant to be lit last, symbolising the brevity of things, and appreciating that all beautiful things eventually come to an end.


	7. Chapter 7

 

Magnus was in an unusually good mood when he went to his recording label's office for a meeting. They had scheduled it for a strange time - usually they were quite considerate about scheduling meetings at a time that would be reasonable for Ragnor, but for some reason time the meeting was in the afternoon, which would have been past midnight for Ragnor. But even the prospect of grumpy Ragnor (well, grumpier-than-usual Ragnor) couldn't dampen Magnus' spirits, because for the first time in a long time, he'd actually written something in his song notebook. Sure, it was only a rough draft, but it had been so long since he'd had any inspiration, and he had a really good feeling about this one. 

Dot greeted him at the entrance of the office, and they made small talk as she walked him in, although Magnus couldn't help but feel that she seemed a bit distracted. When they entered the meeting room, Magnus found himself facing a row of high-level executives, including a black man he didn't recognise - and there was no laptop in sight set up for the video conference with Ragnor.  

"Isn't Ragnor included in this meeting?" Magnus asked Dot in an undertone after they were all done with the requisite greetings and polite small talk. 

"It won't be necessary for your manager to attend this meeting," the new guy, who had introduced himself as Victor Aldertree, the new international talent manager. "You see, we need to talk to you about something that is of a more personal nature." 

That didn't sound good at all. The rest of the executives were looking a little bit uncomfortable about this whole situation as well - which was probably why they'd hired this smug British guy to deal with things like these in the first place.

"Some paparazzi spotted you out with a young man, behaving intimately-"

"Not me, then," Magnus cut in. "I know better than to do that here, whether I'm with a guy or a girl."

Aldertree's brows furrowed briefly at being interrupted, then continued, "But you admit to having a dalliance with someone here in Osaka?"

_Dalliance_. What a word. Magnus tried not to roll his eyes. "I'm in a relationship, yes."

"We are concerned about how that might affect the sales of your new album." 

"What - because I'm dating a guy?" Magnus frowned. "My sexuality isn't exactly a secret. Some of my previous relationships were pretty high profile, and I've talked about being bisexual in interviews over here. The label knew this before they signed me up."

Aldertree turned to the Japanese executives seated next to him and asked them a few questions in fluent Japanese, confirming what Magnus had just said. Magnus shot a look at Dot, and she shrugged helplessly. They usually did these meetings, especially when Ragnor was also included, with Dot as the translator, even though Magnus could understand most of what was being said. It was just easier that way - leaving no room for mistranslation where something as sensitive as a business contract was being discussed. Dot had been with them every step of the way as a facilitator since the beginning, and probably knew Magnus' contract with the record label better than either Magnus or Ragnor, since she'd had to translate every clause and revision for them. There was no way Magnus being in a relationship was forbidden by contract.

"Our concern is not so much about your sexuality, but your _availability_ ," Aldertree finally said. "You see, part of an idol's appeal is of course the fantasy that fans have a chance with you - and if you're attached, your marketability drops."

"I'm not exactly one of those mass-produced teenybopper idols that signed away their rights to a personal life," Magnus said evenly. "You signed me on for my talents at singing, dancing, and song-writing - neither of which are affected by whether or not I'm in a relationship." 

There was some quiet muttering at the other side of the table, then Aldertree said, "You do realise that if your album flops, your contract with us is over?" 

"That threat would be a lot more effective if my album hasn't been in the top three of the chart for four weeks running now," Magnus said, crossing his arms.

"But maybe not _after_ the news of this relationship gets out," Aldertree pointed out. "We're not saying you can't be in a relationship, but perhaps if you kept it down..." 

"My boyfriend is not a dirty little secret," Magnus fumed. 

"Alright. Fine," Aldertree said with a polite smile. "Then let's move on to discuss other matters." 

Magnus narrowed his eyes. There was no way they were dropping this issue so easily. Sure enough, after some discussion about Magnus' endorsement deals and appearances on various shows, Aldertree casually said, "We'll be seeing you at the autograph session and fan-meet this weekend then."

"This weekend? But the work schedule I was sent-" Magnus frowned. That hadn't been on the schedule Dot had sent him, but if the company was setting up more events to promote his album, it wasn't exactly something he could complain about. Even if he had made plans with Alec this weekend to go on a short day trip out of Osaka, to Nara, since the schedule he'd been sent before he arrived in Japan had marked it as a free weekend.

"We've made some changes to your schedule, and you can expect that your schedule will continue to change," Aldertree said, smirking in a way that made Magnus want to punch his face.

"Could I have an updated schedule then?" Magnus asked. 

"I'm afraid that would not be possible."

"Why not?"

Aldertree shrugged and smiled at him. "We're not obligated to inform you of these things in advance - just as you're not obligated to put your personal relationships on hold for us."

Magnus tried not to grind his teeth together, Catarina had scolded him about it often enough. "I see."

The row of high-level executives next to Aldertree stared back with impassive faces. So this was a company decision, then. Magnus was in this moment seriously regretting ever agreeing to Ragnor's hare-brained plan to further his career in Japan, knowing full well that this was the kind of bullshit they pulled sometimes - although, of course, if he hadn't come here, he would never have met Alec. 

After the meeting had ended, Magnus did his level best not to stomp out or react to Aldertree with anything other than bland politeness. Walking out of the meeting room, he made a beeline for the elevator, determined to call Ragnor and yell at him some, even if that meant he was just going to get yelled back at, when Dot hurried after him and slipped into the elevator just before the doors closed.

"Here", Dot said, passing him a piece of paper.

"What's this then?" Magnus asked, puzzled.

"Your detailed, updated schedule for the next six weeks," Dot replied with a wink. "Aldertree would have an aneurysm if he knew I'd given you this, but I figured it would help you - much easier to arrange those dates with your boyfriend when you know exactly when you'll be free." 

"You're my new best friend," Magnus declared, beaming at her and quickly slipping the piece of paper into his pocket. 

"Don't let Ragnor hear you say that," Dot laughed.

"Seriously, though - I don't want to get you into trouble," Magnus said.

"Aldertree is making my life here a living hell," Dot snorted. "They can fire me if they want to."

"I'd miss you though."

"You can always look me up outside of work," Dot smiled. "Tell you what - dinner at my place tomorrow. And bring your boyfriend along. He makes you happy, I can tell. And it's a good look on you."

"You're a blessing," Magnus said, giving her a one-armed hug. 

Magnus was already back at the hotel when he finally had a chance to look at the paper. There were a few unfamiliar items and some of the things had been shifted around, and Magnus frowned to see that he now had two more working weekends, which was two less weekends with Alec. What was most sobering though, was the last item on the list - the flight details for Magnus' trip back to New York. 

He had six weeks left in Japan; half of his time in Japan was already gone. He was going to have to talk to Alec about this, and he knew he couldn't put this off any longer. This thing between him and Alec was strong enough for this, even if they had only really been properly together for three weeks. He would be back in Japan this time next year, anyway, or they might even request that he come over for a short stint in the summer... It'd be fine, he told himself.

And if it turned out that wasn't?

Magnus didn't even want to think about it.

  

 

"Alec, darling - could I talk to you?"  

Alec frowned and tugged at the hem of his jacket. He had been on his way out to meet Magnus at the convenience store - they met at slightly more normal hours now, especially with Magnus' new work situation with the crappy manager, and he wasn't running late, exactly, but he preferred being the first one there because it meant he was the one buying the coffees. 

Besides, his interactions with his mother had been a bit cooler lately, even though she had put her foot down when Jace had been throwing his little tantrum. She hadn't been hostile to Magnus the way Jace had been, but Alec knew she disapproved; the age gap had been just another item in a long list of things she hadn't liked about Magnus. She had started nagging at Alec for staying out so late with Magnus and meeting him almost every night. She had started to try to find "distractions" for Alec - extra chores, trying to guilt-trip him into spending more time with Izzy and Jace. During the weekend that Magnus had unexpectedly had an event to attend, he had finally gone to Universal Studios with her and Izzy, and that had mollified her somewhat, but it hadn't escaped Alec's notice that she hadn't even mentioned inviting Magnus along. 

"Are you going out to meet Magnus?"

"Yeah." Alec braced himself for the protests and the disapproval, but she just frowned a bit.

"I wanted to pass you these - in case you might be interested," Maryse said, and Alec took the pamphlets she was offering warily, half afraid that it was going to be some safe sex thing. 

"What's this?" Alec frowned, flipping through them.

"Recruitment brochures - for English teachers," Maryse said. "I'm not pressuring you to find a job, and financially you, Izzy, and Jace have absolutely nothing to worry about for a while yet. It's just that I thought you might want something to do, instead of staying at home all day. And there are some brochures in there from Osaka University on undergraduate courses taught entirely in English." 

"Mum, I don't want to be an English teacher," Alec said. 

"There's a Chemistry-Biology course..." Maryse trailed off. 

"I know. Don't you think I've already read all these online?" Alec said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I know it's not exactly what you wanted-"

"Mum, none of this is what I wanted," Alec ground out. "I didn't want to move to Japan."

"I'm sorry," Maryse said, and she sounded so defeated that Alec walked forward to give her a brief hug. 

"If there was another choice, I would have taken it."

Alec swallowed thickly. He really didn't want to talk about Max, or the divorce, not right now. Maybe it was horrible of him, but sometimes when he was with Magnus he could forget all of that. And having Maryse spring this topic on him when he wasn't expecting it at all was like a punch to the gut. He let go of her and backed off a few paces. 

"Mum, the choices you made were right for you. At least, I hope they're right for you, and I hope you're happier here than when you were back in New York. But I- I'll think about it, alright? Thanks, Mum," Alec sighed, and headed back to his room to dump the pamphlets in his hand on the table. He couldn't help but feel a little bit like his mother thought that if he had something else to do, he would break up with Magnus - as if Magnus was some kind of _hobby_. 

When he got to the convenience store, Magnus was already standing outside with two drinks. 

"Hey. Is everything alright?" Alec asked as Magnus reached out to hold his hand. 

"There's something I have to tell you. Could we go somewhere more private?" Magnus asked, sounding a bit tense.

"Sure. Where do you have in mind?" Alec asked.

"My room at the hotel?" 

Alec nodded, Magnus' nervousness making him a bit nervous too. They walked to the hotel in silence. 

"Take a seat anywhere," Magnus said when they got to his room.  

The room was cluttered, lived in - every surface covered with a layer of Magnus' stuff. There was a jacket thrown carelessly over one armchair, containers of make-up on the dresser, and a pair of shoes in the corner. The bed was unmade, and there was a flyer sticking out of the lampshade. Alec was used to hotel rooms being impersonal and neat, and the contrast between Magnus' things and the bland neutral-toned furniture was grating on Alec's nerves. Hotel rooms just weren't right for someone with as much personality as Magnus. Surely the record company didn't expect to put Magnus up at the hotel forever? Besides the fact that it must be costing them a bomb, it didn't make sense in the long-term since Magnus was here to stay. He couldn't help but wonder what Magnus' apartment would look like - a place that was actually his, with furniture and decor he had picked out.

"Sorry, was in a hurry to get out of the room today," Magnus said, half-heartedly tidying up a bit by picking up a stray shirt and hanging it back on its hanger before throwing it back over the back of a chair. 

Alec sat gingerly on the armchair without the jacket. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Magnus turned away from the wardrobe and shot a slightly strained smile at Alec. "Would you mind if I broke out the _sake_ for this?" 

Alec frowned and shook his head, but before either of them could say anything else, they were interrupted by a sudden rhythmic thumping coming from the room next door.

Magnus sighed. "Shit. I'd forgotten all about them."

Alec stared at the adjoining wall. "Is that... what I think is going on?"  

"I've never asked, but your guess is as good as mine," Magnus said. "I've never actually met my neighbours even though they've been next door almost every night for the last six weeks."

"So you've been putting up with this since you've arrived in Japan?"

"Well, I wasn't sleeping anyway. Seemed mean of me to spoil their fun," Magnus shrugged. 

"Want me to go talk to them for you?" Alec asked. 

Magnus looked surprised, then grinned and made a "go ahead" gesture. "My knight in shining armour," Magnus said teasingly, but stood up to follow Alec to the door. Alec went out into the hallway and knocked on the door of the room next to Magnus'. 

"Excuse me! Could you please keep it down in there?" Alec said loudly, hoping whoever was inside could hear him through the door and whatever activities they were up to. 

"Well, they've stopped," Magnus said, popping his head out into the hallway. 

"Yeah but if I walk away now, are they going to start up again?"

"I don't think they're going to come out and talk to you, darling," Magnus said, amused. "Come back inside. I feel very adequately looked after."

Alec scowled at him. "You're making fun of me."

"No, no... You're very sweet. It's not like I would have been too shy to do that myself if it was really bothering me, but I'm touched that you're trying to look out for me," Magnus grinned. "Maybe now they'll be embarrassed enough that they'll move to a different hotel."

Alec rolled his eyes and started walking away from the door, when it suddenly flew open. "Alec?!"  

"Jace?!"

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

Alec took one look at Jace - bare-chested, bare foot, pants hastily pulled on and fly undone - and rolled his eyes. "At least now I know where you've been disappearing to every night for the last two months."

"Who's that at the door?" a female voice inside the room called out.

"Why don't you invite him in?" a different voice, also female, added, and giggled.

"Um, my brother isn't... no," Jace shook his head even though the two girls in the room probably couldn't see him, then caught the look of disgust on Alec's face and gave a short snort of laughter. "Yeah, it's not my brother's kind of thing."

Magnus had come out of his room properly by then, and looked caught between amusement and a sort of vague horror. "Oh, god. I've been listening to your brother have sex for the past six weeks?!"

Jace narrowed his eyes at Magnus. "What is he doing here? I thought you said you guys weren't having sex!"

"We're not!" Alec said in exasperation.

"I live in the room next door," Magnus said. "My company was supposed to get me an apartment, but that didn't work out, so I got stuck with a hotel room."

"Huh." Jace looked skeptical, but said, "That kind of sucks." 

"Yeah," Alec sighed, then his face grew serious. "Jace, I think we should talk." 

Jace opened his mouth with a scowl, probably about to tell Alec to fuck off - then the expression on his face grew a bit softer. "Let me go get dressed." 

"Yes, please," Alec wrinkled his nose. 

After Jace had gone back into his room and shut the door, Alec turned to Magnus a little apologetically. "Sorry, I know you said you wanted to tell me something too, but I'm worried that if I don't talk to Jace now when he seems ok with it, he's going to go back to being defensive again. I'll come back up later when I'm done with him?"

Magnus gave him a smile that was more of a grimace. "I think one stressful conversation tonight may be quite enough for you, darling. It's alright, it can wait a little longer. But if you need me after your talk with Jace, just come back up."

"Ok," Alec agreed, though Magnus' mention of a stressful conversation ahead of them did seem rather ominous. "I'll definitely be back up. Um, that is, if you want me to come back."

Magnus smiled and kissed him. "I always want you to come back. Here, take my key card. Just let yourself in later."

"Ok." 

Alec stayed in the hallway to wait for Jace, and when his brother came out, he was not alone - there were two black girls with him, one with her hair worn in an afro, and another who had bleached her dark hair silver. 

The silver-haired girl eyed Alec with a predatory look. "So this is your brother?" she asked Jace. Jace nodded, looking uncomfortable. 

"Too bad he's not into women - he looks like he'd be a fun ride. Well, guess we'll see you tomorrow night then, fucktoy," she told Jace, and Alec's eyebrows rose. Jace looked down at his feet and didn't answer her, but he didn't protest to her name-calling either, which seemed like odd behaviour from his usually brash brother. 

The other girl quickly hushed her and smiled apologetically at Alec. "Sorry, she's drunk." She tapped Jace's shoulder lightly to get his attention. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Jace looked up and flashed a smile at her, and watched the two girls make their way to the elevator.  

Alec frowned, trying to make sense of the scene he had just witnessed and coming up blank. "Let's go to the hotel bar?" he asked Jace. 

"That's for hotel guests only, and I don't have a key card. It's with Gretel - um, the one with the dyed hair." 

"I have Magnus' card," Alec said. Jace shrugged and let Alec lead the way. 

  

 

The hotel bar was dark, with small lamps at every table, and there was someone singing jazz accompanied by a piano. Alec got them both cokes since neither of them were old enough to buy anything alcoholic no matter how much this conversation felt like it needed alcohol, and they both sat in awkward silence for a while, sipping their drinks. 

"Hey. You know you can tell me anything, right?" Alec finally said. "I know things have been weird between us for a while now, but you're always going to be my brother." 

Jace nodded, staring down at his drink and idly stirring it with his straw. He pursed his lips, then said, "Maia is my boss, and Gretel is her best-friend-slash-fuck-buddy. They asked me to join them to spice things up a bit, and it's all just for fun. No strings attached, but without running the risk of going through multiple partners."

"Your boss? What kind of job?" Alec frowned. 

"Bartender. Maia owns her own bar. When I first got here, I walked into her bar and tried to convince her to sell me some tequila but she refused, and we just got talking, you know? She's from New Jersey."

"Wait - but you're not old enough to drink here." 

"Yeah, but there are no restrictions for serving or mixing alcohol. Maia is teaching me, and she says I have a knack for the mixing... So. That's all there is to it."

"That doesn't sound like that's all there is to it at all," Alec said wryly. "I mean, the way that Gretel was treating you..."

"Ok, I don't like Gretel very much, but they're kind of a package deal," Jace admitted. "Gretel is mean even when she isn't drunk. But her daddy's owns the hotel or something, so if we didn't have her we wouldn't have the nice hotel room every night." 

"So all that time that you were giving me shit about being inexperienced and accusing Magnus of taking advantage of me... you were basically letting these girls take advantage of you," Alec said, starting to feel a bit angry on Jace's behalf.

"They are not taking advantage of me. I mean, I knew what I signed up for," Jace protested. 

"But you sound like you don't actually want to have sex with Gretel." 

"I- like I said, they're a package deal," Jace mumbled. 

"Wait - so you like _Maia_ ," Alec said, seeing the light. "And you're agreeing to this arrangement with them because it's the only way you get to sleep with her? That's messed up." 

"Not everyone is like you, alright, Mr Future Doctor?" Jace snapped. "I didn't even manage to graduate from high school. You, Izzy, and Max were always the smart ones, and I'm just the stupid pity case with no family that your parents took in. I'll take what I can get."

"Jace, I've already told you, you're our brother - even if we're not related by blood. You're not getting rid of us that easily. Besides, you flunked out of high school because you were too busy ogling one particular redheaded cheerleader, and then went into a funk when she refused to go out with you," Alec sighed. 

"Yes, I'm a screw-up, I already knew that. Didn't need you to tell me that." 

"Jace, don't be an ass. That's not what I said at all," Alec scowled. "Look, so maybe your life isn't going by the conventional route, but that doesn't mean anything. Maybe you just needed more time to find something you enjoy doing." 

Jace shook his head. "I don't even know what I'm doing with my life. You've always been the one with the plans - fucking spreadsheets with your life goals ten years ahead all planned out." 

"Yeah, and look where it's got me," Alec muttered, then immediately felt guilty - it felt as if he was accusing Max of having  _planned_ to die.

"It got you Magnus," Jace pointed out. 

Alec raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, so suddenly you're ok with Magnus?"

"He makes you happier. I can tell," Jace admitted. "And I was a complete ass that day when he came to dinner, but he barely batted an eye." 

"At least you know you were being an ass," Alec snorted.

"Isn't that what brothers do? Give their siblings' boyfriends the shovel talk?" Jace defended himself.

"That wasn't shovel talk, that was being a fucking jerk," Alec grumbled. 

"Fine, I was taking out my frustration with my fucked-up life on your disgustingly sweet boyfriend, happy?" Jace said snidely.

Alec's lips quirked up in a smile. "You know what - why don't you tell me where to find this bar you're working at tomorrow night. Maia's bar. And I'll be your wingman for you to go ask her out properly," Alec suggested.

Jace looked surprised, and couldn't really hide his grin when he said, "Really? But you usually hate it when I ask you to be my wingman."

Alec shrugged at Jace and grinned back at him. "What are brothers for?"

 

 

Magnus really should have told Alec about him leaving Japan in a few weeks' time before they'd gone on this trip out of Osaka together. But after the thing with Jace, there just hadn't been another opportune time. Alec and Jace had gone out for a few nights of brotherly-bonding at a bar called the Hunter's Moon in downtown Osaka, and whatever had happened seemed to have mended the rift between them. (In addition, Magnus no longer had to endure sex noises from the room next door, for which he was eternally grateful.) Alec had seemed much happier to be on good terms with his brother again, and Magnus hadn't wanted to burst that bubble. Then what with work commitments and stupid Aldertree rearranging his schedule, the days had just slipped away. 

And now he was down to four weeks left in Japan. 

They took the first train out to Nara to maximise their time there. The cherry blossoms, which were a bit of a mania in Japan, had bloomed slightly earlier this year because of global warming or something like that. They'd already been assaulted by a never-ending array of _sakura-_ themed products for weeks: sweets, clothing, chocolate, even _sakura_ -flavoured beer. But now that the flowers were actually in bloom, things had gotten a little crazy. It felt like every single person in Japan was heading out to the best places to admire the delicate pale pink flowers, so it was lucky that they'd planned this trip in advance, because all the hotels would have been fully booked otherwise. As it was, Magnus had splurged a bit and booked them a place at a traditional _ryokan_ , complete with an outdoor _onsen_ for the full experience.  

They didn't have much in the way of luggage - just a small backpack for each of them - but they decided to drop it off at the _ryokan_ before starting their exploration of Nara. After all the weeks of generic furniture in neutral shades, the distinctive traditional Japanese decor was a welcome change. The floor from the lobby onwards was covered with _tatami_ , filling the place with a subtle grassy scent, and the room their hostess showed them to basically only had a low dining table in the middle of the room and nothing else, since the bedrolls were kept in the cupboard. 

It was so quiet in the room that both Magnus and Alec were reluctant to speak first, feeling like it would break some sort of spell. Instead, they sat down to enjoy the cups of tea and sticky sweet  _wagashi_  (made in the shape of _sakura_ blossoms, of course) that had been set out to welcome them, and just soak in the lull of the peaceful atmosphere. 

"Ready to go?" Magnus finally asked.  

"Hang on, let me just grab my map," Alec said, then unzipped his bag, and a dozen packets of lube and a box of condoms tumbled out.

Magnus blinked, brain short-circuiting a bit. Up until now, they hadn't really done much other than hold hands and kiss. Was Alec seriously thinking of having sex already? 

"Shit! Sorry, I swear I didn't- it wasn't-" Alec stuttered out, scrambling to pick up the lube and condoms and shove them back into his bag. "Jace is a fucking ass. He must have put these in when I wasn't paying attention."

Ah. That made a bit more sense

"That's brothers for you," Magnus smiled. "Come on, let's go explore."

There was so much to see and do, they soon put the incident out of their minds. There were many temples and parks, all of which were rather crowded because everyone was out admiring the cherry blossoms, and they'd eaten sandwiches filled with whipped cream and strawberries for lunch, which Magnus thought was a great excuse as any to eat whipped cream and strawberries. The highlight of the visit, though, had to be the large numbers of wild deer that roamed all the parks. The deer were used to tourists feeding them and had absolutely no fear of humans. In fact, they could get pretty aggressive if they thought you had food but were holding out on them. Alec had seemed delighted that the deer would eat right out of his hands, and that alone had been worth making the trip to Nara. 

They went back to the _ryokan_ just before sundown so they could try out the outdoor hot spring when there was still light, and that was when Magnus remembered that they were going to have to get completely naked. Ordinarily, Magnus wasn't the least bit body-shy, but the little incident with the condoms and lube back in the room was messing with his head a bit. Besides, his boyfriend was gorgeous - who'd blame him for wanting to get his hands on _that_? 

The _ryokan_ had provided light cotton  _yukata_ for them, which they'd changed into in the room before making their way out to the hot springs. The hot springs were segregated by gender, and according to the helpful flyer that had been provided in the room, you weren't even allowed to wear a towel in the hot spring. Magnus couldn't help feeling that Alec, too, had the little stash of condoms and lube on his mind because he was awfully quiet as they walked along the wooden corridors of the _ryokan_.  

They were supposed to shower before they went into the hot spring, so Magnus and Alec made their way to the stools and taps provided in a corner. Alec looked rather like he really didn't want to have to strip in front of everyone, even though there were only two other guests there, already soaking in the _onsen_ with all the naughty bits under the slightly opaque water and paying them no attention. Deciding that Alec needed a distraction, Magnus started undressing first, trying to seem as confident and nonchalant as he could. Alec swallowed hard and followed his lead, keeping his eyes on his own toes.

"I'll do your back if you'll do mine," Magnus said with a flirty wink when they were both undressed, and was rewarded with the knowledge of just how far down Alec’s body his blushes went. 

"Ok," Alec agreed shyly, then they both busied themselves with the parts they could reach, turned away from each other to give each other some privacy.

Magnus cleared his throat. "Ready for me, darling?"  

"Yeah," Alec said nervously, and Magnus scooted over to help him soap his back, trying his hardest to keep his emotions neutral and not let the intimacy of the action overwhelm him. 

Alec had tensed up at the first touch of Magnus' hands on his bare back, but Magnus tried not to linger, soaping Alec quickly and efficiently, and Alec relaxed. When he finally reached Alec's hair and started massaging the shampoo into his boyfriend's scalp though, Alec had honest-to-goodness _moaned_ , and Magnus' hands had stilled as he tried to remember how to breathe. 

"All done," Magnus said, then quickly turned his back to Alec. 

Alec's hands were large and gentle and warm, and _lingered_. Magnus bit on his lower lip and closed his eyes, fighting to keep his breathing even. When Alec's hands hesitated on Magnus' lower back, Magnus decided this was the limit to all the gentle torture a person should reasonably be expected to endure at the hands of their significant other.

"I think that's me done, darling," Magnus said brightly, and quickly grabbed the basin of water to rinse off. 

The towel used for preserving one's modesty when entering the water (presumably so that whoever was already in the hot spring wasn't presented with a face full of dick if they turned around unexpectedly) left nothing to the imagination, being barely big enough to cover the front of their crotch. Magnus absolutely had not surreptitiously checked out Alec’s ass. But he had totally caught Alec looking at his ass, which was simultaneously gratifying and embarrassing because it was making all his blood run south, and the towel really was very tiny.

By the time they were both properly in the water, Magnus felt like he had undergone a trial by fire. 

 

 

After a traditional twelve-course _kaiseki_ dinner, where each tiny dish had been meticulously plated, they chatted for a bit in the balcony enjoying the view of the lights from a nearby pagoda reflecting off a lake before deciding to turn in. Normally Magnus slept naked if it wasn't too cold, but he'd even put on underwear tonight, because Alec in a _yukata_ was doing things to his insides. Alec's collarbones were framed tantalisingly by the dark blue cotton, and the loose fit of the garment meant that when Alec slouched, the deep 'V' of the neckline gave Magnus a clear view of his entire chest. It was all Magnus could do to stop himself from peeling the whole thing off and start ravaging that wide expanse of pale skin.

"Goodnight," Alec said, when they were bundled in the bedrolls, lying side by side in the semi-darkness. 

"Goodnight," Magnus replied, and leaned over to kiss Alec.

He had only meant for it to be a chaste peck on the lips, but Alec had surged up with a groan and pulled Magnus down by the front of his clothes. In no time at all, Magnus found himself on top of Alec, their legs tangled together and Alec's growing erection pressed into his thigh as they licked into each other's mouths. Magnus started mouthing his way down Alec's jawline, sucking at the skin greedily and marking it up with bruises. Alec's hands were on his lower back, fluttering like Alec wanted to reach down and grab Magnus' ass but didn't quite dare to, but when Magnus reached down to undo the belt of Alec's _yukata_ , he jerked back. 

"Magnus, I don't- not that I don't want to, but-" Alec stammered. Magnus could see that his pupils were blown wide with arousal, but he also seemed a bit terrified. 

"It's ok, Alexander. I understand," Magnus said soothingly, trying to get his own rapid breathing under control. "We can go as slowly as you need." 

He rolled off Alec, and made to move back to his own bedroll, but Alec shook his head. "Not that far away."

"Ok." Magnus lay next to Alec, who put his arms around him immediately. 

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for," Magnus assured him. 

"It was those damned condoms, and the thing at the  _onsen_ ," Alec muttered into Magnus' neck, and Magnus laughed.

"Oh, believe me, I know," Magnus said, still chuckling. 

Alec tilted his head up to kiss Magnus softly, and they traded gentle kisses for a bit, bodies pressed close and limbs intertwined, but without the dizzying headlong dash into unfamiliar territory. 

"I think I just want this, for now. Is that ok?" Alec asked uncertainly.

"Perfect," Magnus promised him, pulling him closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took a little longer than I expected, but it's really more like two chapters because there wasn't a good place to cut.
> 
> _Wagashi_ is a traditional Japanese confection, usually made from sweet bean paste and glutinous rice paste. Sometimes other things like chestnuts and fruit are also used. 
> 
> The reason why you're not allowed to wear bathing suits or bring towels into public outdoor hot springs is because they have to keep the water as clean as possible - it's not like they can drain it and clean it like a swimming pool, yeah? You can bring a small towel to cover up on the way in, but the towel can't go in the water. Most people fold the towel and put it on their shoulders or on their heads.


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

Alec awoke to pale light filtering through the paper panes of the windows and the weight of Magnus' arm around his waist. Alec sneaked a peek over his shoulder at Magnus - he was still fast asleep, looking much younger without his usual make-up on. They were cocooned together in the bedclothes, which were nice and warm from their shared body heat, and Alec never wanted to leave. Alec relaxed and closed his eyes, sinking back against Magnus so that his back was resting lightly on Magnus' chest. They had planned to visit a lot more places after breakfast and before they headed back to Osaka, but surely they had time for some cuddling. 

Now that he was closer to Magnus, though, he could feel something hard pressing against his lower back, almost at the top of his ass crack. Alec blushed. It wasn't like he didn't get an erection himself in the morning, and he knew that it was just part of a healthy body's normal functions. But it was much harder to think about it clinically when the erection in question belonged to your very hot boyfriend, whom you'd spent a good part of the previous day having fantasies about, and had just had a very hot make-out session with the previous night, until... 

Determined to make up for panicking the previous night, Alec took a deep breath, braced himself, and reached down to grab Magnus' erection. 

"Oh my God," Magnus gasped, jerking awake. He quickly grabbed Alec's wrist to stop him from doing anything more. "Alexander, what are you doing?"  

"Last night, I... I wanted to make it up to you," Alec said, confused.  

Magnus shook his head and gently removed Alec's hand. "I've already told you, there's nothing to be sorry for. And we can go slow." 

"Oh." Alec flushed and looked away.

Magnus sat up and leaned over Alec, cupping Alec's face with one hand until Alec met his eyes, then kissed him to soothe the sting of the rejection. "It's not that I don't want to take things further with you. If you really want to, I'm all for it. But I don't want you to think that you owe me anything, that you have to 'make it up' to me."

"Okay," Alec said, and finally kissed Magnus back.

"I think we have some time before they serve breakfast. How about we give the hot spring another go?" Magnus suggested. Alec nodded, kissed Magnus again, then let Magnus go off to the bathroom first while he sorted out his slightly jumbled feelings. 

When it was Alec’s turn to get ready, he hadn't been gone five minutes when there was a shout of, "Magnus!"

Magnus popped his head into the bathroom to find Alec staring in horror at his reflection - specifically, all the hickeys Magnus had given him the night before. 

"Nothing a bit of concealer won't fix," Magnus said unapologetically. "Mine won't match your skin tone, but we could stop by a shop to get you something."

"I didn't realise I was dating a vampire," Alec said. 

"But how else will everyone else know that you're mine?" Magnus joked, and Alec glanced at him through his reflection in the mirror, surprise and warmth blooming in his chest - the warmth rapidly twisting into heat when he remembered just how those marks had gotten on his neck.  

"Hardly seems fair," he said, eyeing the clear skin on Magnus' neck pointedly. 

"It'd be awkward for my work if I showed up with a bunch of hickeys on my neck, or at any other obvious place. But I'm sure we could work something out," Magnus said, trying to sound nonchalant, but faltering a bit on his last few words when he caught sight of the expression on Alec's face. 

"Yes, let's," Alec agreed, stalking out of the bathroom. 

He had his lips on Magnus' and his hands on Magnus' waist before they were even properly near the bedrolls. Unfortunately, the bedrolls weren't nearly thick enough for them to just throw themselves down on them, but Magnus sat down quickly and pulled Alec down onto his lap, which was even better. At this angle, Magnus only had to stretch a little to reach Alec's jaw and neck, and he wasted no time latching on the pulse point at the base of Alec throat and sucking another bruise into his skin. 

Alec moaned, grinding down on Magnus' crotch before he realised what he was doing, then protested, "It's supposed to be my turn to do that." 

Magnus used his tongue to lave over the place he'd marked, then pulled back a bit. "I'm all yours, darling."

Alec stared at Magnus and licked his own lips, at a loss to where to start. Magnus was looking at him patiently, trying to catch his breath and smiling slightly like he couldn't believe his luck, which was patently ridiculous because obviously it was Alec who had lucked out.  

"I need to be able to hide the hickeys under my clothes," Magnus reminded him softly, and Alec's brain went offline just for a few seconds from trying to wrap his mind around what Magnus was saying. 

Alec dropped a hand down to the belt of Magnus' _yukata_ and pulled the simple knot open. Without the belt holding the garment closed, it fell open a bit on its own. Magnus' breath hitched a bit as Alec slid one side off his broad shoulders, but remained still, letting Alec set the pace.  

"Here?" Alec asked, thumb brushing across a spot on Magnus' clavicle that would be covered easily, even with Magnus' penchant for leaving a number of his shirt buttons undone. Magnus nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing hard as he swallowed.  

Alec leaned down and tentatively placed his lips on the spot, kissing it gently before opening his lips a bit more to press a hard kiss with a bit of teeth. He sucked on the tanned skin, mimicking what Magnus had just done to him, tongue lapping up the taste of salt on his skin, and Magnus' grip on his waist tightened. Alec let go and sat back to examine his handiwork - the bruising was very faint, hardly noticeable. He frowned and put his mouth back on the same spot, sucking a little harder this time, and was rewarded with a slightly darker bruise. Alec moved on to a spot slightly to the right, teeth scraping gently against Magnus' collarbone, and sucked a second bruise into Magnus' skin. 

" _Alexander_."

Alec looked up from his hickey experiment on Magnus' clavicle, surprised at how _wrecked_ Magnus had sounded. How had he managed to make Magnus sound like that, _look_ like that, like Alec was slowly driving him out of his mind with desire? Surely Magnus had experienced far more exciting things in bed with far more experienced partners. 

"Is everything ok?" Alec asked, and Magnus nodded immediately. 

This time, when Alec lined the third hickey up in a neat row from the first two, when his tongue ran over Magnus' skin, Magnus actually whimpered and bucked his hips up a bit. Confidence surged through Alec, together with a strange pride. _He_ was doing this, taking Magnus apart totally by accident despite his inexperienced fumbling.  

"I should probably do the other side, so that they match," Alec teased, trying to hide his smug grin but probably not doing a very good job of it. 

Magnus groaned and dropped his head to Alec's shoulder, laughing a bit despite himself. "You know exactly what you are doing to me," he accused. 

"Maybe." 

Magnus mock-scowled and poked Alec in the ribs. Alec laughed and squirmed away, then poked Magnus back in retaliation. Magnus yelped, picked Alec up bodily off his lap and dumped him onto the bedroll so that he could pin him down by straddling him, and attempted to tickle him. Alec grinned and simply bucked his hips to throw Magnus off balance, wrapped his arms around Magnus and flipped them over, reversing their positions. Magnus looked up at Alec, surprised to suddenly find himself on his back. 

"Self-defense classes with Jace," Alec panted out, by way of explanation. 

Magnus' _yukata_ had fallen open completely during their playful scuffle, and now Alec found himself hovering over a half-naked Magnus with three distinct bruises lining his collarbone, put there by Alec's own mouth. He swallowed hard, heart pounding in his ears, undid the belt of his own _yukata_ and let it fall open, then leaned down to kiss Magnus. 

They didn't get much sightseeing done, in the end. 

 

 

Alec should have known that his nosy siblings would be waiting to grill him for details about his trip with Magnus, especially after Jace's stunt with the condoms and lube. He had barely stepped in the door when Izzy and Jace practically pounced on him and dragged him into his room, which also happened to be the furthest from Maryse's room.

"So how did it go?" Izzy asked excitedly. "He seems like such a romantic guy, did he get the hotel to put out champagne and rose petals?"

"Not that kind of hotel," Alec frowned. "And I'm not legally allowed to drink alcohol, so why would he get us champagne?"

Jace was looking rather disconcertingly like he was checking out Alec's ass, which made Alec smack him on the back of his head.

"What?!"

"What are you looking at?"

"Well, you're not walking funny. So I guess you're the top?"

"Firstly - it's none of your business. Secondly, _still_ none of your business. Also, it's kind of disturbing how invested in my sex life you two are," Alec said, starting to unpack his bag.

"So somebody actually _has_ a sex life now!" Jace crowed. "Aren't you glad I helped you pack for the eventuality of you having sex - oh, sorry - 'making love' with your boyfriend?" Jace asked with exaggerated air quotes.

"No," Alec said, and threw the box of condoms in Jace's face.

"Ow!" Jace caught it when it bounced off his face, then frowned. "Hey, it's not opened at all. The seal's still on."

Alec rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, daring his siblings to give _him_ another asinine lecture about safe sex.

"So you guys didn't...?" Izzy said hesitantly.

"You must be _kidding_ me. You guys went on a romantic trip, spent a night at some expensive hotel paid for by your rockstar boyfriend, and you _still_ didn't manage to lose your 'V' card?" Jace exclaimed.

"Yes, because we actually spend our time talking, getting to know each other, and enjoying each other's company. Instead of just hopping into bed and making assumptions," Alec said, shooting Jace a superior look.

"Ouch, low blow," Jace complained. "And I never thought dating a celebrity would be this boring."  

"Get out of my room, or I'm not giving you the stuff I bought for you," Alec said, making shooing motions at them. 

Izzy lingered behind, though, and after Jace had left she asked Alec quietly, "He makes you happy, right?"

"He does," Alec said.

"Don't think I didn't notice the concealer on your neck," she whispered, stuck out her tongue, and danced away before he could throw something at her.

Once he was sure his siblings were gone, Alec fished out the little dark blue silk pouch Magnus had bought for him from Todaiji, one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Nara, and fastened it to the outside of his backpack. This _omamori_ was for good luck in his studies, and matched the red silk one he had gotten for Magnus, which was for luck and good health. Maybe it was a bit cheesy and high-school to have matching good luck charms, but Alec couldn't care less. It was nice to have something to show to the world that they were a couple now. 

And nobody needed to know about the matching hickeys they each had on their collarbones. 


	10. Chapter 10

  

Magnus' good mood from the trip with Alec lasted for five whole days. (The hickeys had only lasted three days, but Alec had come up to his hotel room on one of the nights to refresh all of them, and Magnus would gladly endure a dozen cold showers for Alec to press those kisses so methodically into his skin over and over again, if that was all he was comfortable with for now.)

Over the week, he'd also managed to write rough drafts for another six songs. He had almost an entire album's worth of material now, and he wondered if it'd be worth it trying to pitch an English album to the record company - except that would probably mean having to deal with Victor Aldertree.

_Ugh_.

Unfortunately, dealing with Aldertree was going to be a necessity anyway, and soon. Magnus was only far too aware that he only had about three weeks left in Osaka, and he _still_ hadn't told Alec. In fact, Magnus was forming a slightly mad plan in his head that would mean not needing to tell Alec for at least another three months. After all, the sales of Magnus' album were still going strong. One of the companies he was doing advertisements for had approached him informally to see if he'd be interested in doing other advertisements for the other products they carried. It would make perfect sense for him to stay a little longer. It made him feel a bit guilty about being a bad fur-parent to Chairman Meow, but it was for his future happiness - the Chairman would understand. The company might even be able to get him a proper apartment, where he could have Alec over to do things like cooking dinner together, or Alec could spend the night over without having to do a slightly too public walk-of-shame.

And after _those_ three months were over - well, it'd almost be time for the school term to start at Columbia University. Alec had been considering going back to New York more seriously, now that he knew Jace actually had a proper job and Izzy had settled down in her new school. Magnus going back could be the extra push Alec needed to be a bit more selfish about getting back on track to chasing his childhood dream again.

But Magnus had been planning to go into his discussion with the record company on his own terms, and after he'd already discussed it properly with Ragnor. He hadn't been expecting a call just before the recording of one of his commercials, and he certainly hadn't expected to be greeted by the aggravatingly smarmy voice of Victor Aldertree instead of Dot.

"We'll need you to come in to the office today, Mr Bane," Aldertree said. "We'll see you at 5pm sharp."

"Fine," Magnus frowned, although it really wasn't, and called Dot the moment he'd hung up on Aldertree.

"Dot, are you ok? Aldertree just called me directly."

"I've been let go," Dot sighed over the phone. 

"What?! Why?"

"Because Victor Aldertree is a paranoid creep. Apparently he checks the office printer records every week, and found out that I'd printed out your schedule. He made a big fuss when he found out I'd given it to you."

"Shit," Magnus said, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." 

"It's ok. Like I told you, Aldertree was making my life there a living hell anyway."

"You're too good for me, Dot."

"That I am," Dot laughed over the phone. "Now I won't have to babysit your fabulous ass anymore."

"I have to agree, it _is_ pretty fabulous," Magnus replied with a small smile.

"Oh, you," Dot giggled. "Well, good luck with Aldertree, and tell Alec 'hi' for me."

Dot being so nice about being fired because of him made him feel even worse. Luckily, the commercial he was filming called for him to be brooding and melancholy, and he didn't even have to try too hard.  

By the time Magnus was walking into the office, he had worked himself up into a bit of a rage. It seemed like it was just going to be him versus Aldertree and a row of executives this time, and Magnus refused to be intimidated.  

"Before we begin, Mr Bane, I would like to let you know that Miss Dorothea Rollins has been released from our employment for releasing sensitive, confidential information to a third party. We're not taking legal action against her at the moment, but I'd advise against keeping in contact with her," Aldertree said in a genial tone, and Magnus really wanted to punch him, but he was still going to have to work with him. 

"What's this meeting about?" Magnus asked. 

"You've been here in Osaka for two months now. I hope our hospitality has been satisfactory."

Magnus cleared his throat. "About that. The hotel room is great, but I was wondering if I could get an apartment here at some point? I don't know if they've mentioned it to you yet, but the guy from the chocolate company asked me if I would be interested in other commercials, and I wouldn't mind extending my time here."

"Yes, he did bring it up, but we've declined on your behalf - there's another artiste we need to promote, you see," Aldertree said with a polite smile. "And since your commitments here are almost complete, I'm glad to inform you we've arranged for you to go back to New York ahead of schedule. We'll have to cram some things in your work schedule a bit of course."

"Wait, what?" Magnus asked, heart sinking. "How much earlier?"  

"We've managed to shave about two weeks off. You can go home to New York in ten days' time."

 

 

Ever since his trip with Magnus, Alec had found himself thinking about sex.

He knew the basics of it, of course, but after some surreptitious Googling on his phone, he began to realise there was more to it than just two people wanting to get together - especially when it came to anal sex. Who knew there were lubes that were specifically made for anal sex, or that what he ate had anything to do with getting prepared for sex?

Determined that when he finally did it with Magnus, it would actually be _good_ for Magnus and not some clumsy, cringe-worthy experience that Magnus would be too nice to complain about, Alec read everything he could about it, and then some. There had been some awkward fumbling in the shower with soapy fingers and slightly contorted positions, but Alec thought he was getting the hang of it. 

He was reading one of his medical textbooks, and definitely not looking at the diagram of the anal sphincter, when Maryse knocked on the door and popped her head in. 

"Mum!" Alec slammed his book shut hurriedly and turned around. "Um, what's up?" 

Maryse had a smile on her face when she handed him a letter. Alec frowned and opened it - it was a letter from Osaka University, confirming that they had received his application to sit for the entrance examinations. 

"What the hell?"

"I noticed that the deadline was approaching, so I made the application on your behalf," Maryse said.

"Why would you do that?" Alec fumed. 

"But you're just home all day, then out with Magnus all night. It's not healthy."

Alec took a deep breath. "Mum, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. I'm planning to go back to New York for my studies."

"What?" Maryse's face took on a pinched, anxious look. 

"Jace has a job. Izzy's doing fine. And you seem to be happier here," Alec shrugged. "Most people go away to college. And I know New York - I'll be fine. I've still got friends there, like Aline. She's in NYU." 

"And Magnus?" Maryse asked, which was surprising because Alec didn't think she'd care. 

"He's been encouraging me to go, to be honest. He has a pet cat and shares an apartment with a friend in New York, so I think he actually spends some part of the year there. And I'd be back here during the summer break," Alec said.  

"Oh," Maryse said, and sat down at the corner of Alec's bed. "Well, I guess you've got it all figured out, then. You're an adult. It's not like you need my permission or anything like that."

Alec frowned at her tone of voice. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"I thought you cared more about this family. Instead of running off again and leaving us behind," Maryse said. 

"I'm going to college! Why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?" 

"The last time you left us to go to Nepal, we lost Max. Izzy needed you, Jace needed you. _I_ needed you. But you weren't there." 

"Don't you dare," Alec seethed. "Don't you _dare_ lay this on me like that. I can't live my life sitting around feeling like if I do my own thing, the world is going to come crashing down and it's all my fault." 

"I'm not saying it's your fault!" Maryse said, surprised. 

"Aren't you?" Alec bit out. "You're my mother - you're supposed to be supportive."

Maryse reacted to this as if Alec had slapped her.

Alec grabbed the backpack he'd used for his trip with Magnus and blindly shoved some clothes from his cupboard into the bag. "I'm going to stay with Magnus for a while. Don't know when I'll be back," Alec said curtly, then left.

  

 

Alec texted Magnus when he reached the hotel lobby, and when Magnus came down to bring him up, Alec noticed that Magnus seemed to be a bit drunk. 

"Is everything ok?" Alec asked. 

"Fine," Magnus waved one hand airily. 

"Are you drunk?" Alec frowned. 

"Not yet. But I'm already halfway through a bottle of _sake_ ," Magnus admitted.

"What happened?" 

"Dot got fired because of me, and Aldertree is a big bag of dicks."

"Shit. Is Dot ok?" 

"Fine, fine," Magnus said. "But enough about me. What about you? I wasn't expecting to see you today, and - why do you have your backpack?"

"Long story," Alec sighed. "I'll tell you upstairs."

By the time Alec had finished venting to Magnus, Magnus was looking a bit more sober. "She probably just needs some time to adjust to the idea," Magnus said soothingly. "Empty nest syndrome, or something like that."

"Maybe," Alec shrugged. 

"You're serious about going back to New York for your pre-med?" Magnus asked, fiddling with the glass he had been using to drink from.

"Are you worried about what's going to happen us?" Alec asked him. "I thought we could give long-distance a try, and I'll be back for Christmas at least... we'll make it work. Right?" 

"We'll make it work," Magnus agreed with a soft smile at Alec, and Alec thought Magnus lost some of the tension in his shoulders.

Alec let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding in. "So... you want to tell me why you were drinking through your stash of alcohol on your own on a weekday evening?"

"Aldertree wants me to work this weekend, and I don't want to," Magnus said with a petulant pout. "Run away with me, Alexander. Let's go where we'll never, never have to worry about grown-up things again."

Alec snorted. "Are you Peter Pan, now?"

Magnus cracked a sad smile, then said, "I just wish we had more time."

"Term doesn't start till September. It's not like I'm leaving next week," Alec said, but Magnus only shook his head like he still wasn't quite sure. "What's wrong?"  

"I'm in a crappy mood, and I've drunk too much to think about this properly," Magnus said. "I promise I'll tell you in the morning."

Alec hesitated, then said, "Could I have a glass too?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, well... you did mention that you don't like to drink alone. And I feel like maybe I need it after that conversation with my mother, to be honest," Alec said.

"Good thinking. The journey to Neverland is going to take courage," Magnus finally said, and went to get Alec a glass. 

 

 

Alec winced when he woke up. The room was far too bright, and someone should close the curtains. Except that he didn't have curtains in his room - he had blinds. He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. His head felt like it had been taken apart with a sledgehammer, then hastily slapped back together and screwed back on back-to-front. He rubbed his temples, then suddenly registered that the feeling of the sheets on his skin was far too distinct, and his shirt wasn't the only piece of clothing that was missing. 

A quick peep under the covers confirmed what he had expected - Magnus wasn't wearing anything either. 

Oh god. He was naked. In bed with Magnus, who was also naked. Had they...? Alec swallowed hard, the pounding hangover headache not the only thing making him feel nauseous now. Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything past maybe the second bottle of _sake_ , and complaining that the room had gotten too hot and that he was sleepy. Was it really possible to get so drunk that he wouldn't have remembered having sex? He didn't know how he felt about possibly finally losing his virginity and having no memory of it happening at all. 

Maybe a dash of cold water on his face would clear his head. Alec looked around the room, hoping to find at least his underwear in the mess, and spotted it hanging from the back of the chair in front of the dresser. He got out of bed gingerly, shivering a bit from the cold and mindful of waking Magnus up with sudden movements, then made his way as quietly as he could across the carpeted floor. 

He got on his underwear, and put on the first shirt he found (Magnus', but thankfully it was plain black and the fit wasn't too different), and was about to shuffle off to the washroom when something caught his eye. There was a crumpled-up piece of paper on the table that looked like an itinerary. Alec hadn't meant to snoop, but the last item on the list looked a lot like flight details. Alec deliberated with himself for a while, then reached out for the paper and smoothed it out so he could read it properly.

From behind him came the sounds of Magnus stirring. "Alexander?" 

Alec didn't turn around, but when he spoke his voice was shaking with anger. "Were you actually ever going to tell me that you were going back to New York in three weeks' time?" 

 


	11. Chapter 11

  

Magnus sat up quickly, the feeling of his heart plummeting in his chest far outweighing his headache. "Alexander, I can explain."

But Alec wasn't listening. Alec was shoving his jeans on, jaws clenched so hard it had to hurt, and then he was walking towards the front door.

"Alexander, please-"

Magnus' feet had barely hit the floor, but Alec was already gone.

"Fuck!" 

Scrambling around the room to grab some clothes, Magnus didn't even bother with his shoes before he was running down the hotel corridor for the lift, ignoring the scandalised looks from the other hotel guests when he had to do his fly up in the lift. He ran through the lobby, dodging people left and right, but by the time he was out on the street Alec was nowhere in sight. 

Magnus patted his pockets for his phone so he could call Alec, but his pockets were completely empty. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, then ran back in to get another key card from the hotel reception desk, tapping at the countertop impatiently while the poor hassled receptionist tried her best to get him a new card as quickly as she could. On the way up, Magnus caught a glimpse of his own reflection - his shirt was inside-out, he had the worst case of bed head and a slightly wild look in his eyes, and his make-up from the previous day was smudged all around his eyes. He looked like a mess on the outside, but it was nothing compared to how he was feeling on the inside.

Once he was back in his room, he quickly found his phone. There was a missed call from Aldertree that he ignored, and he hit Alec's number on the speed dial, but it had barely started ringing when he heard the sound of something vibrating on the dresser. Shit, Alec didn't even have his phone with him? Magnus quickly checked the room, and found Alec's backpack, keys, phone, and wallet - which was probably good news because that meant Alec couldn't have gone far, but made Magnus feel sick to think how miserable Alec must have felt to leave without even thinking of taking anything. Magnus had broken Alec's heart, because he was a fucking idiot.

Magnus ran out of the hotel onto the streets again, with no idea where to start looking for Alec. His phone started vibrating in his pocket - he dug it out frantically, only to see that it was Aldertree _again_ ; Magnus scowled and blocked the number, then picked a direction at random, and started walking. He had gone two blocks before he realised where his feet were leading him - to the convenience store from so many weeks ago, the place where he had first met Alec. It made perfect sense, come to think of it - it was almost right between Magnus' hotel and Alec's home, and maybe Alec had started walking home before thinking better of it, since he'd just had an argument with his mum. Magnus picked up his pace, and much to his relief, he spotted the familiar shape of Alec hunched over one of the tables that faced the street. 

Alec didn't look up when the door chimed. His face was in his hands, and he had angled his body such that he was practically curling into the wall. Magnus walked up to him quietly, relief warring with heartache, and he saw the way Alec's posture stiffened and drew himself in tighter when Magnus sat in the chair right next to Alec. He was so still, it sounded like he was trying not to breathe, but Magnus could hear him sniffling. Alec was crying.

"Alexander," Magnus said softly.

"Go away," Alec mumbled, face still turned away and wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry."

Alec didn't even look at him.

"It wasn't that I meant to lie to you," Magnus said, feeling wretched. "It's just... it never felt like the right time. And the one time I was going to talk to you about it, we were interrupted by Jace next door."

"Oh. I remember that." 

"I'm so sorry, Alexander. I thought I was trying not to hurt you, but instead I hurt you even more than if I'd just told you outright. You shouldn't have had to find out about it like that."

Alec looked at Magnus then, eyes red and watery. 

"Your shirt is inside-out," Alec finally said.

"I know," Magnus said, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Can we talk?"

Alec wiped his eyes once more, and nodded. "But not here. Not... in public."

"My room?" Magnus suggested, and when Alec nodded, the relief flooded through him so quickly that he felt a little light-headed. 

Magnus bought a packet tissues for Alec, and they walked back to the hotel in silence while Alec blew his nose - until Magnus' phone went off again, this time with a number he didn't recognise. He barely gave it a glance before cutting the call, and this time, for good measure, he turned the whole thing off.

 

 

When they got back to the room, Alec excused himself to wash his face, and gingerly accepted the glass of water Magnus offered him when he came back into the room.  

"Do you need some Tylenol? For the hangover?"

Alec shook his head and crossed his arms, keeping to the corner of the room closest to the door like he might stomp out again at any time. "You said you wanted to talk."

Alec's curtness stung a little, but Magnus probably deserved it. He took a moment to organise his thoughts, then said, "My contract requires me to come to Osaka for promotions and filming commercials at least once a year. I might be back again in summer, I don't know for sure. I was planning to stay a little longer, maybe a few months - take on more commercials or something. But that didn't work out, because Aldertree said the company didn't need me to be here anymore." Magnus cleared his throat nervously. "In fact, they're sending me back early. They've booked the return flight for me in ten- no, nine days' time."

" _Nine_ -" Alec looked at him in shock. 

"I'm going to call the airlines up to change it," Magnus said quickly. "My work visa is for four months. Even if they don't need me here anymore, I could stay for a while longer on my own steam. It's not like Aldertree can deport me, or like I have anything going on in New York that can't wait." 

"But why would you stay here?" Alec asked.

"For you?" Magnus replied, bewildered that Alec even had to ask.

"You don't expect me to put my life on hold for you, so why would I expect you to put your life on hold for me?" Alec countered.

"I'm not putting my life on hold. I've never been so productive in my life - I think being here has been good for my muse," Magnus said defensively.  

"Magnus, that - it's just delaying the inevitable, and also not really the point," Alec said. "Why didn't you just tell me you were going to have to go back to New York, right from the start?" 

"I was afraid that if you knew I was going to have to leave, that you wouldn't want to take a chance on me," Magnus admitted. "I've been unforgivably selfish."

Alec was quiet for a long while after that - during which time Magnus might have found himself unable to breathe - and finally said, "I can see why you might have thought that."

Magnus' heart sank. He braced himself for what Alec was going to say next. 

"I think I might have taken a chance on you anyway, though." 

Magnus' head snapped up in surprise. _What?_

"I mean, I don't believe in love at first sight, or anything like that. But from the moment we met, there's always been that... connection."

Magnus nodded, the knot in his chest loosening. "For me, too."

"I sort of figured out that you lived in New York for part of the year, you know? Because you were always talking about missing Chairman Meow. And if you were staying here and I went back to New York for school, we would have had to be apart sometimes anyway," Alec said. "I just wasn't expecting you to actually be in New York for most of the year, or that you were going to leave so soon." 

Magnus nodded, because of course Alec had figured it out. "I understand if you need some time away from me after this, but I- Don't-" Magnus gestured helplessly. "Please believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you, Alexander." 

Alec looked down at his feet, and it broke Magnus' heart when Alec said in a very small voice, "When we'd just started going out, Jace said some stuff about you. That you were only with me because you wanted to sleep with me, and that once we'd... that you would dump me after you'd gotten what you wanted. When I woke up this morning and realised that we'd slept together, then I saw that itinerary, I guess I freaked out."

"Wait. _What_?! What do you mean we...?"

"When I woke up, we were both naked. And we were drunk out of our minds last night. I mean, I don't remember anything at all, but..."

Magnus immediately threw the covers off the bed to examine the sheets, then moved on to check the bins all around the room, including the bathroom. 

"Magnus, what are you doing?" 

"Looking for condoms - or maybe that doesn't really answer our question because I don't think I actually have any," Magnus said distractedly.  

"I gave the box back to Jace, so I don't have any either," Alec said. 

"All the bins are empty," Magnus said, watching Alec carefully. "Does it feel sore? Anywhere?"  

Alec blushed but shook his head. 

"Oh, that's good then," Magnus let out a sigh of relief. "Well, the sheets are clean... ish. And sex is usually pretty messy business. If we were drunk enough that we can't remember what happened, I don't think we'd have had the sense to clean up. I think it's possible we didn't actually do anything. Maybe we were too drunk, and just... got naked and fell asleep. I mean, I usually sleep naked, so it really isn't that unusual for me."

"You think so?" Alec asked hopefully. 

"I'm not 100% sure, since I don't remember anything either, but I hope so. I'd hate to not be able to remember our first time."

"I'd hate not to be able to remember my first time. Ever," Alec replied softly. 

"Shit. I'm sorry. We shouldn't have - _I_ shouldn't have drunk so much," Magnus said, feeling like crap all over again. "I fucked up."   

"Hey, no, don't say that. It's not like you forced me to drink anything," Alec said, and immediately went over to pull Magnus into a hug.  

Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec tightly. To think he'd almost lost this, that he'd almost messed this up completely. "Are we... are we ok?"

"I'm still mad at you," Alec mumbled into his hair. 

"I'm so sorry," Magnus murmured, then added, "You do know Jace is full of shit, right?" 

Alec huffed. "Yeah, I know."

"Even if we'd really slept together last night, you mean so much more to me. You're not just a hook-up, alright?" 

"Ok," Alec said. They held each other for a while longer, then Alec asked, "So are you really going back to New York next week?" 

"If you want me to stay, I'll stay until my visa expires," Magnus assured him.  

"No, it's fine. I'll see you in September, or maybe even a bit sooner - I've probably got to settle dorms and paperwork stuff," Alec said, and Magnus nodded, heart already heavy at the thought of having to say goodbye to Alec, even if it was only for six months. 

"I'll stay until things with your mother settle down, at least," Magnus offered. 

"That'd be nice, yeah," Alec said, relaxing a bit more into Magnus' arms. He pulled back a bit, then ducked his head down and kissed Magnus.

Magnus made a sound of surprise, but he was mostly just relieved and was only too glad to return the kiss. He wasn't expecting Alec to walk him backwards until the back of his knees hit the bed and push him down on it, hands fisting in Magnus' shirt as he climbed into Magnus' lap and claimed his mouth in a heated kiss. 

Magnus placed a hand on Alec's chest and pushed gently. "Alexander, what-?"

"Can we... before you go back to New York. I want to..." Alec trailed off a little breathlessly. 

"Alexander, I- what's this about? I hope you don't think that you have to sleep with me to keep my interest, or anything like that. I'm perfectly fine with waiting. We'll be seeing each other in September - it's not like we're saying goodbye forever." 

Alec huffed. "Magnus, I'm 18. And you're...  _you_. If I have to wait six months to have sex with you, I think I might die from sexual frustration."

"That's what phone sex is for," Magnus joked, then grew serious. "A lot of things can change in six months," Magnus reminded him.

"Not for me," Alec said stubbornly. "Do _you_ think you're going to feel differently about us in six months' time?"

"I know we've only been together for a few weeks, but- Alexander, you've ruined me for anybody else. And I mean that in the best way possible," Magnus said softly, and Alec's mouth quirked sideways in a lopsided grin.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Alec took in a shaky breath. "Then I want this. With you."

"And I want this with you too. But only if you're very sure," Magnus replied. 

"Yeah," Alec said, and he suddenly sounded very nervous. "I- I want to go all the way."

Magnus gaped at him. "You mean anal sex?"

Alec nodded but didn't meet Magnus' eyes, running his hands in an anxious gesture up and down his own thighs, like he was cleaning off sweaty palms. "With, um... you on top." 

"We don't have to do that," Magnus said quickly. "There's more to sex than penetrative sex, and there are plenty of other ways we can make each other feel good. I know it might feel like a bit of a rite of passage for a gay man-"  

"I know I don't have to," Alec said. "But I want to."

"Are you sure? It's a bit much for your first time," Magnus said gently. "I could bottom for you instead."

"I've been, uh... practicing," Alec admitted shyly.

Magnus felt like someone had just hit him over the head. "Oh." 

"But I don't have anything. You know, the lube and stuff."

"I- there's a convenience store a couple of blocks away,"  Magnus said, swallowing hard. 

"Ok. Then I'll just, um. I'll take a shower. While I wait for you to come back," Alec said, and got off Magnus' lap. He gestured at the bathroom. "So I'll just... go, then."

"Ok," Magnus replied in a slightly strained voice when Alec disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. 

"Oh my God. Fuck," Magnus muttered, and tried to gather himself enough to get out of the door. 

 

  

Things between him and Alec had always been so easy and comfortable, right from the moment they'd met, that Magnus had almost taken it for granted. He went through the motions of walking to the convenience store and buying the lube and condoms in a bit of a daze, like he was having an out-of-body experience. Those were his hands handing over the money and taking the bag, his mouth forming the words to thank the cashier, his feet carrying him back to the hotel - but at the same time, it wasn't. How had they gone from Magnus being sure Alec was going to break up with him less than an hour ago, to Magnus buying condoms so they could have sex for the first time? Sure, there was probably such a thing as make-up sex, but this just felt... out of sync. Like an off-key note in middle of a beautiful chord. 

Shouldn't having sex with someone, especially someone who had become so important to Magnus in such a short time, feel like something heady, joyous? 

The uneasy feeling that Alec was just trying to check all the boxes because Magnus was leaving so suddenly grew as Magnus made his way back up to his room. He stood outside the door for a few moments, then took a deep breath and went in. 

Alec was sitting on the bed wearing a bathrobe and presumably nothing else, staring down at his hands. His hair was still wet from his shower, and when Magnus came in, Alec looked up briefly, then looked down at his hands again and blushed. It should have driven Magnus out of his mind with desire, but Magnus just felt like his heart was too full with this sweet, gentle boy.

It wasn't that he didn't want Alec - just that everything in him was saying that it shouldn't be _right now_. 

Magnus put the things he had bought down on the dresser, desperately thinking of how to phrase this so that he wouldn't hurt Alec again, but Alec beat him to it. 

"This... this is..." Alec ran his hand through his hair.  

"Weird?" Magnus supplied with a small smile.

"Yeah," Alec huffed, half in relief and half in frustration.

"I think we're forcing the issue," Magnus said, sitting down next to Alec on the bed. "Let's not rush into this."

Alec opened his mouth to protest, but Magnus shushed him with a finger to his lips. "I know you want to, and I want to, too. But if it doesn't feel right at the moment, then it doesn't. I know it's tempting to want to do something to reaffirm our relationship after the morning we've had, but it doesn't have to be sex." 

"Ok. Lunch?" Alec suggested after giving it some thought.

"Just what I was thinking of," Magnus grinned, and kissed Alec on the nose.


	12. Chapter 12

 

They opted to have lunch in the hotel's café, which was quiet and almost empty now that it was in between the lunch hour and teatime. 

As they waited for their food, Magnus watched Alec watching the traffic going past on the roads down below. They had talked, hugged, kissed, and almost had sex - but after Alec had gotten properly dressed, Magnus had noticed a lingering feeling that things between them were still a little off-kilter. Everything was out in the open, and that should have been freeing, but there was a fragility about the space between them now. Maybe it was the fact that Magnus was still going to have to leave pretty soon, or that Alec was still hurting from the fallout from Magnus' fuck-up. But there wasn't much Magnus could do about that second thing, other than to hope that as time went by, he'd be able to prove to Alec that he'd learned from his mistakes and wasn't going to keep things like that from Alec again. 

He placed his hand on the table, palm up. Alec glanced at it, and readily placed his own hand in Magnus'. Magnus gave him a small smile as he squeezed Alec's hand, and Alec smiled back. Maybe things weren't completely right between them yet, but they'd work it out, Magnus was sure of it. 

The server approached their table with their food, and Magnus frowned when he saw what Alec had ordered. "A salad? That's all you're having? You're a growing boy, Alexander."

"Um. The stuff I was reading... they said the, uh, bottom should stick to a high-fibre diet a few days before- you know,"  Alec stuttered out.  

Magnus stared at Alec while his brain made sense of what Alec was saying. "Shit." 

"Not sure that was the word choice I would have gone for," Alec said with a wry smile, and Magnus was so surprised that Alec was making a joke about a potentially-awkward aspect of anal sex that he burst out laughing. Pretty soon Alec was joining in, chuckling even though he was a bit red in the face from embarrassment. 

"I can't believe we're laughing like this over a poop joke," Alec groaned, hiding his face in his hands. 

Magnus giggled, wiping the corners of his eyes carefully so he wouldn't muss his makeup. "Oh, Alexander. You surprise me in the best ways possible." 

"What, because I made a poop joke?" 

Magnus shrugged, still grinning. "Being able to laugh about the things that could go wrong during sex is a good thing. Like I said, sex is messy business." 

"If you say so," Alec huffed, then shot a withering look at Magnus when he started sniggering again when Alec took his first bite of his food.  

"Sorry, I'll stop now," Magnus said, struggling to keep a straight face. 

Alec's cheeks were still slightly flushed as he studiously ignored Magnus and concentrated on his food, and Magnus couldn't help thinking that he'd lucked out. How had he managed to find someone so generous, so dedicated in the way he loved? Maybe part of the reason why Alec was the way he was because he had never been hurt the way Magnus had been in the past, but that only made it more humbling, that he was placing himself in Magnus' hands so readily. And if Magnus was honest with himself, the way Alec was going about this whole sex issue, determinedly  _preparing_ his body for Magnus' taking... it was more than a little bit hot. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alec asked. 

Magnus hummed and shook his head, quickly busying himself with his own food. _Upstairs brain, Magnus_ , he chided himself.  

They were interrupted by a voice saying, "There you are! Magnus, have you lost your mind?"

"Dot! What are you doing here?" Magnus said in surprise when he saw who it was.  

"Magnus, why aren't you answering your damned phone?" Dot asked huffily.

"Oh. I turned it off. I was... in the middle of something," Magnus replied, quickly taking out his phone from his pocket.

Dot raised an eyebrow and waggled it meaningfully at Alec, then started giggling when Alec turned tomato-red.

"Not _like that_ ," Magnus admonished her. He turned it on and saw a dozen missed calls from Dot.  

"You do remember you were supposed to go for a meet-the-fans event this morning?"

"Oh _fuck_." Magnus looked at Dot in horror. He couldn't care less about pissing off Aldertree, but disappointing his fans was inexcusable.

Dot sat down next to Alec, shaking her head in exasperation. "Yeah. Apparently Aldertree called you twice before declaring that you were the most unprofessional artiste he had ever had the misfortune to work with and vilifying you in front of all your fans. Tanaka- _san_ \- you know, the guy who talent-spotted you in the first place - he tried to call you, but couldn't get through, so he roped me in."

"It's my fault," Alec said, eyes wide. 

"It's _not_ your fault," Magnus said firmly. "You're not responsible for me forgetting my work commitments. It's ok, I'll just call Aldertree back and say I was sick or something and release a public apology, then make it up to the fans with another meet-up." 

"Not sure Aldertree is going go for that. You do realise that he has it in for you?" Dot said.

"Oh, so you mean he isn't normally an asshole to everyone?" Magnus frowned. 

Dot leaned in conspiratorially. "I'm not the only PA who has been let go in the last few weeks. All this stuff - changing schedules at the last minute, rejecting endorsement deals that would help your visibility - maybe you can say the record company is entitled to it, but it's not exactly professional behaviour either. Tanaka- _san_ says he thinks Aldertree has his own motives for making life hard for some of the artistes under the label. The company has a quota of foreign talent it brings in, after all, and Tanaka- _san_ thinks Aldertree is trying to make you guys leave so that he can bring in his own talent."

"And I've basically just handed him my head on a silver platter," Magnus said, biting his lip. 

Dot nodded. "You'd have been much harder to get rid of, because your album has been doing so well."

"Let me guess - he's going to kick up a big fuss, then either insist that I do some humiliating thing to make up for my mistake so that I look like a fucking diva with no work ethics, or try to offer some ridiculously low amount for my next contract so I leave on my own accord," Magnus said.

"Either way, unless Aldertree gets fired, it's going to be hard for you to stay on with the label," Dot said apologetically.

" _Can_ I get him fired?" Magnus muttered to himself musingly, although Alec looked worried at this train of thought. 

"Probably not in the nine days before you leave for New York. The rest of the board seems pretty sold on him," Dot said, amused.

"Never say never, darling," Magnus said. "Especially not once I rope Ragnor into this. But first, let's concentrate on the damage control." 

"What do you have in mind?" Dot asked.

"I'm assuming Aldertree is going to dominate all the official communication from the label. Mostly I just want to apologise to the fans and maybe arrange for an alternative meet-up to make up for missing the session today. Is that possible?"

"I could get in touch with some of my media contacts to get the word out," Dot nodded. 

"I'll do the rest - I'm great at organising parties," Magnus said cheerfully. "I'm thinking something a little bit more intimate and casual - private dance party with the fans, maybe."

"What about the venue? It'll be hard to get a place on such short notice," Dot pointed out.

"There's always the bar that Maia runs," Alec suggested. "I could ask her."

"Perfect," Magnus smiled.

 

 

Alec lasted about half an hour channel surfing in Magnus' room before he gave up and went out. Magnus and Dot had gone off to do whatever they had to do, pulling in favours and doing some sneaky sleuthing that Alec wasn't sure was entirely legal, and Alec hadn't wanted to get in their way. And it was uncomfortable being in the room when Magnus wasn't there - even with all of Magnus' stuff littered everywhere, it was just another hotel room, in the end. 

He couldn't go home, because he wasn't speaking to his mother, and Izzy had plans with school friends this weekend, so Alec found himself knocking on the door of the Hunter's Moon, which wasn't open for business yet this early. As he'd expected, Jace was already inside helping with the inventory, and let him in.

"Hey bro. Got your message - Maia says she's ok with it, and I passed her Dot's contact details," Jace said. "You didn't have to come all the way here, I would have messaged you."

"Um, it's not about that. Just... wanted someone to talk to, I guess," Alec said.

"Something happened with Magnus?" 

"Sort of, yeah." 

"Need me to go beat him up for you?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Jace, I'm bigger than you. And we went to the same self-defence classes."

"Yeah, but you might get soft-hearted about actually hurting him," Jace shrugged. 

Alec snorted. "Anyway, no. No beating anybody up - well, actually maybe there's someone who sounds like he deserves a good punch to the face, but I'm sure Magnus is more than capable of doing it on his own." 

"Alright. What do you need, then?" Jace asked. 

"I think... I just need someone to listen."

"Ok. I can do that," Jace nodded, starting to check the glasses behind the bar. "Talk away."

"Magnus is leaving next week for New York. Possibly for good, if things with his record company don't work out."

"What?!" Jace was all up in arms again, and Alec thought it would be amusing if he wasn't so annoyed by how much Jace seemed to distrust Magnus, even now. 

"It's fine, we've talked about it," Alec said. 

"Shit. So what's going to happen between the two of you now?" Jace asked. 

Alec took a deep breath. "I'm going back to New York as well."  

"Oh."

"Well, not like, _next week_. Probably in August, or July." 

"That's... good. For you. It's always been your dream to be a doctor," Jace finally said. "You told Maryse?" 

"Yeah. That didn't go down so well," Alec sighed. "She said I was abandoning the family."

"What the fuck?!" Jace exclaimed, staring at Alec in disbelief. 

"I'm not, right?" Alec asked uncertainly.

"So this is not so much about Magnus, and more about us - me, Izzy and Maryse," Jace said wryly. "Well, of course you're not abandoning us. Can't wait for you to leave, to be honest. We're going to be so much happier without you hanging around with your bossy mother-hen tendencies," Jace grinned, and dodged the drink coaster Alec threw at his face.

"Glad to know I'm going to be missed."

"Seriously, though - it's about time you started living for yourself," Jace said.

"That's what I told Mom," Alec agreed, heaving a sigh of relief.

Jace turned to fiddle with the bottles at the back of the bar so that Alec couldn't see his face. "Yeah, don't be such a chickenshit. Just go. I can take care of Izzy if Maryse decides to be a bitch."

Alec couldn't suppress a grin. "This might actually be the first time I'm hearing you volunteer to take responsibility for something."

"Fuck off," Jace scowled, and threw a dirty tablecloth at Alec, which he dodged with a laugh.

"Boys, don't break any of my glasses. We've got an unofficial fan party to host tomorrow night, on behalf of someone's fabulous celebrity boyfriend," Maia scolded.

"So it's a go?" Alec asked, just as his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

"It's a go," Maia confirmed with a smile.


	13. Chapter 13

 

 

The Hunter's Moon was packed to beyond its full capacity, with patrons spilling out onto the street outside. Jace and Alec had spent most of the afternoon shifting all the chairs and tables out of the way so Magnus would have a space to dance, and Magnus had to say the effort was very much appreciated even if there still wasn't any space to dance, what with the number of people squeezed in the little pub. 

It had been a mad rush getting everything in order, but he'd managed to get a caterer for appetisers, Dot had found someone to set up a portable sound system, and they'd all worked together to put the decorations up for a New-York-themed party. And the end product was pretty spectacular for a party that had been planned within a day, if Magnus said so himself. 

But all that had only been the cherry on the cake. The point of the whole party had been to make it up to his fans - and boy had his fans rallied. Somehow the news of the party had gone viral on social media, with people speculating the reason for the sudden unofficial fan-meet. According to Dot, the rumours had ranged from him throwing a farewell party because he was leaving Japan for good following conflicts with his record company (close to the truth), to speculation that he was announcing his engagement to his partner, a mysterious good-looking stranger who had swept Magnus off his feet in a whirlwind romance (both true and blatantly _not_ true, and Magnus didn't know how to react to that at all).

Dot had gleefully reported that the record company was being inundated with calls and emails from fans and media outlets trying to find out what was going on, and Magnus' continued refusal to respond to Aldertree's calls meant that he was turning this into a PR nightmare for Aldertree. Magnus was the one calling the shots now - _he_ was the one in control of the media spin. He knew that other than fans, the crowd in the Hunter's Moon included people who had been drawn in by curiosity over the whole furore, and press hoping to get a scoop. 

"All ready for your dramatic entrance?" Dot asked with a smile as he prepared to go out into the crowd from the employee's backroom.

"Have you met me, darling? I'm all about dramatic entrances," Magnus grinned, and pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Dot."

"I didn't do anything," she protested, then laughed when he frowned. "Well, ok, I did _some_ of it. But this is mostly you. Your fans, their love for you and your work. You don't get it, do you, the effect you have on people?"  

"You realise this is all going to my already oversized head," Magnus joked. 

"Good. Because I think you've forgotten that you _are_ talented. That just because you're different from what people are used to, doesn't mean that people won't take a chance on you."

It was such a weird echo of what Alec had said yesterday morning that it threw him off a little.

"Ok, enough nagging from me. Let's not keep them waiting," Dot smiled. "Go get them, tiger." 

Magnus nodded, and stepped out to the sound of applause and cheers, and people chanting his name. 

 

 

It all went by like a whirlwind. This wasn't Magnus' first fan-event of course, but normally he was on a stage or behind a table signing autographs under the watchful eye of a handler, always separated by a distance. This time, he could shake hands, take selfies, actually _talk_ to these people and have them tell him exactly what about his music had stolen their hearts. When the press came up to dig for sound bites, he made sure he remained polite and factual, giving credit to the people who had taken a chance on him. 

There were three highlights to his night, the first being when Dot, who was helping to moderate the whole thing, asked the crowd what song they wanted Magnus to perform live for them.  

" _Do What's In Your Heart_!" the crowd called out, almost in unison.

"Really?" Magnus said in surprise. That was his only English song in the entire album, the only song he'd really felt proud of - _that_ was his most popular song?

Looking at all the eagerly nodding faces around him, Magnus could only oblige, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't overwhelmed that they'd all learned the lyrics by heart and could sing along with him. 

The second highlight of the night was when he finally decided to move the party outside for a bit where there was more space for him to dance. After showing off his moves, he'd offered to teach everyone some simple moves, and he'd basically started an impromptu flashmob on the street outside Maia's bar.  

The third highlight of his night was when his eyes met Alec's from across the crowded room.

Alec had been keeping out of the way and in the shadows, uncomfortable with the idea of drawing any attention to himself. Magnus had seen him helping with serving the drinks and clearing the tables, content to watch Magnus from the side lines. It occurred to Magnus that this was the first time Alec had been to any of his live performances. 

The party was winding down by now, and Magnus was pretty sure all the press had left, so he walked up to the bar and leaned over it, then grinned and asked in a low voice, "See something you like?" 

Alec could only stare mutely and nod. 

  

 

The tension between them was palpable, but Alec managed to keep his hands to himself all the way until they were back in the hotel and Magnus had locked the door behind them. Alec put his arms around Magnus' waist, pressing himself against Magnus' back, and began to nuzzle at his neck. 

"You were amazing today."

"Only today?" Magnus teased. 

"Every hour of every day," Alec replied, sliding Magnus' jacket off his shoulders.

"I need a shower. Want to join me?" Magnus asked. 

They made short work of each other's clothing and went into the bathroom. This wasn't like the last time they'd bathed together, back in the _onsen_ where everybody could see them. The shower stall was small, narrow - and private. Alec met Magnus' eyes for a beat - then they were kissing, tongues sliding together and bodies slick under the warm water as Alec pressed himself up against Magnus, and at the first touch of Magnus' cock rubbing up against his own, Alec couldn't help moaning into their kiss. 

"Can you show me how you've been practicing for me?" Magnus murmured, one hand tracing the swell of Alec’s ass.

Alec fumbled for the shower gel and reached behind himself, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't get embarrassed by having Magnus watch him clean himself. Alec took a deep breath, then pressed one finger in slightly, working it slowly in all the way, then pumping it shallowly. Alec felt a hand on his hip, and his eyes flew open in surprise. 

"Can I help?" Magnus asked. 

Alec nodded, and felt Magnus slide one soapy finger down his ass crack to rub all around the sides of his hole, where he was stretched around his own finger. He bit down on his lower lip, having learned from experience that the enclosed space of bathrooms made him sound even louder than he normally was.

"Keep going, darling," Magnus reminded him, and Alec resumed fucking himself with one finger, feeling his cock start to ache with the need to orgasm. 

Then Magnus surprised him by cupping his balls with one hand and wrapping his other hand around Alec's cock and jerking him off. Alec gasped at the firm pressure stroking him, and although the rhythm and speed was unfamiliar, the thought that this was Magnus _'_ hand was enough. Alec thrust hard a few times into Magnus' fist - then he was coming, some of his release landing on Magnus' thighs, but quickly washed away by the shower. 

Alec leaned against Magnus, breathing heavily as the tingling shocks of pleasure continued to run through his body. It wasn't exactly how he'd expected the night to go - but there was always the next time, he supposed. He reached for Magnus' cock to return the favour, but Magnus shook his head.

"You don't have to, Alexander. Unless you're done for the night," Magnus said, cupping Alec's face and nipping at his jawline. "Do you want more?" 

More? More sex? Alec tried to form an answer, but it was proving very difficult with Magnus sucking bruises gently along his pulse point. "Yes," Alec finally managed. "More."

"Good," Magnus smiled against his neck. "Because I wasn't quite done with you yet." 

 

 

"On your front will probably be easier for your first time," Magnus said when they'd towelled each other dry between heated kisses and groping hands, unable to really keep their hands off each other.

"But I want to see you," Alec said. 

"How about I prep you while you are on your hands and knees? You can be on your back later, if you prefer," Magnus suggested. 

"Ok," Alec nodded, stealing one more kiss before he got on the bed a little nervously, while Magnus set out the condoms and lube within easy reach. When Magnus turned around, the sight of Alec in position and waiting for him was almost enough to make him discard whatever plans he'd had for tonight and just concentrate on getting off as quickly as possible, but he took a deep breath and set his own needs aside. Tonight was all about Alec.

Magnus got behind Alec, nudging his knees further apart, and spread his ass cheeks to expose his entrance, and Alec's breath hitched in anticipation. He smelled of soap and a warm musky scent Magnus was now intimately familiar with, a more concentrated version of the smell of skin and body heat he got each time he nosed along Alec's neck. Magnus leaned forward, then pressed his tongue flat against Alec's entrance and licked it.

"Magnus, what-" Alec gasped, his whole body jerking at the sensation. He turned to look at Magnus over his own shoulder, looking horrified. 

"You're clean. We made sure of that together, remember?" Magnus said soothingly. "Do you trust me?" 

Alec swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Did that feel good?" 

"...Yes."

"Then may I continue?" Magnus asked gently. 

Alec hesitated, then nodded. He kept his eyes on Magnus as Magnus leaned forward again, then dropped his head with a low moan when Magnus licked over his entrance again. Magnus ran his tongue around the tight rim of Alec’s hole a few times, making Alec shiver with pleasure, then pointed his tongue and pressed it into Alec’s body. 

"Oh my God!" Alec cried out, body pitching forward again, and Magnus gripped him in place by his hips so he could work Alec open with his tongue, relishing the whimpers he was drawing out of Alec. By now Alec was no longer on his hands but on his elbows, but only just barely, face buried in the pillows as he shuddered under the onslaught of pleasure. After a while, Magnus added a finger, just pressing in the tip while his tongue continued to lap at the rim. 

"M-Magnus, please," Alec gasped, already sounding wrecked, and when Magnus reached down to stroke Alec's cock once, he was pleased to find it fully hard again.

Magnus gave Alec's entrance one last kiss, then pulled back to coat a finger generously with lube before circling Alec’s hole and pressing in slowly. He was still slightly stretched from their activities in the shower, and the first finger went in easily. Magnus coated a second finger, and this time before he was even past the first knuckle, Alec clamped down hard on the intrusion.

"Mm-Magnus, I-" 

"It's ok. I'll go slow. Breathe," Magnus said encouragingly, and waited for Alec to relax again before working his fingers in again, this time scissoring slightly as he went in.

When the two fingers were pressed in all the way, Magnus crooked his fingers slightly, and was rewarded with a sharp gasp from Alec when he found his prostate. It only took a few more nudges from Magnus to get Alec pushing back onto Magnus' fingers, chasing after the pleasure of the stimulation as Magnus pumped his fingers in and out of Alec. 

"More," Alec panted. Magnus obliged and added a third finger with even more lube, and this time Alec let out a slight hiss of pain at the stretch.

"You're doing so well for me," Magnus said, running one hand down the back of Alec's thigh, and Magnus could see Alec forcing his tensed muscles to relax. "Should I continue?" 

Alec nodded frantically, and moaned when Magnus started pumping his fingers again, slipping deeper with every thrust until Alec was completely stretched out around Magnus' fingers.

"Magnus, I need- please," Alec groaned. "I need you." 

"I'm right here," Magnus assured him. "Come, let's get you on your back." 

Alec grunted with displeasure when Magnus slid his fingers out of his body, but rolled onto his back eagerly. Magnus cleaned his hand and placed an extra pillow under Alec's hips, then reached for the condom.

"Can I do that?" Alec asked, sitting up. 

"Sure," Magnus said, relinquishing the foil packet. 

Magnus took a deep breath, trying to think of other things as Alec rolled the condom down over his cock with gentle fingers. Alec squeezed some lube on his palm and tentatively grasped Magnus' cock to pump him a few times, spreading the lube around.

Then Alec lay back down and pulled up his knees, exposing himself to Magnus, swallowing hard. Magnus felt a jolt of desire all the way down to his toes. 

"Oh, darling. You're incredible," Magnus murmured, leaning down to pepper kisses on Alec’s collarbone.

Alec placed a hand on his nape and drew him back up to claim his mouth hungrily, hips rocking up as he sucked on Magnus' bottom lip. Magnus felt Alec snake down a hand to grab his erection and try to rub it at his entrance. 

"So impatient," Magnus teased, lining the head of his cock up, and pressed into Alec. Alec threw his head back against the pillow and cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

"Breathe in for me when I go in, that's right... So good for me, you feel so good," Magnus moaned as he breached Alec's body. By the time the head of his cock popped through the tight ring of muscle, Alec was gripping Magnus' arms so hard that Magnus knew he was going to find bruises the next morning.

"Magnus... Fuck, you're inside me," Alec moaned. "Please... please..."

Magnus drew back a bit, then thrust forward a little, fucking himself into Alec by little increments until he was seated as deep as he could go. Alec still had his head thrown back, breathing heavily with his eyes screwed shut. 

"Are you ok?" Magnus asked, his own voice strange to his ears with how strained it was. Alec’s body was hot, tight - every so often he would clench his internal muscles reflexively, almost hard enough to push Magnus out. He had wanted to go slow, to make love to Alec with the reverence he deserved, but Magnus had a feeling neither of them had the patience to manage much tenderness with the force of  _want_ thrumming between them. 

"Give me a minute," Alec panted, voice trembling as he tried to unlock all the tension in his body. "It doesn't hurt, just- it's... Ah! I... I didn't expect it to feel like this," Alec gasped. "I'm so-  _full_." Magnus groaned and ground his hips into Alec, drawing another whine from him. 

" _Alexander_." Magnus could feel his cock twitching inside Alec's body with every broken sound of pleasure Alec was making. 

"You can move," Alec said breathlessly, hooking his heels behind Magnus back and tilting his hips up as if he was trying to take Magnus even deeper. Magnus didn't need a second invitation - he pulled halfway out, then snapped his hips forward and Alec cried out. 

"Ohmygod please please please -" Alec babbled as Magnus picked up the pace, fucking hard into Alec and trying to angle his thrusts so that he was hitting Alec's prostate at least every alternate thrust. 

Alec's hand gripped tight around his own cock, and he began to jerk himself off roughly.  

"I'm going to - Magnus, I'm going to come, going to - !"

Alec doubled over when he came, hot spurts of his release hitting his own chest. He was so tight that Magnus could only rock forward and moan at the force of Alec's body clamping down on his cock, whispering endearments as Alec’s body spasmed around him. 

When Alec's body had gone limp from the pleasure, Magnus slid his achingly-hard erection from Alec's body and took the condom off, intending to jerk himself off, but Alec stirred and propped himself up shakily. 

"You're still hard."

"Almost there. Close," Magnus assured him, starting to stroke himself, but Alec surprised him by leaning down to take Magnus into his mouth.

"Alexander, you don't have to- fuck!" Magnus bit down on his lips, the sensation of Alec's mouth, warm and wet on him and sucking hard on the head of his dick making the roiling heat in his groin go supernova. And when Alec ran his tongue over the head, that was it for Magnus - he didn't even have a chance to warn Alec before he was coming inside his mouth with a choked-off shout of Alec's name. 

Alec coughed and pulled off, working Magnus through his orgasm by hand, then surreptitiously wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Magnus was still trying to catch his breath, but he couldn't resist pulling Alec up to him so that he could kiss him and lick away the come at the corner of his mouth. Alec returned his kiss enthusiastically, pushing forward until Magnus found himself on his back and almost falling off the edge of the bed.

"Round three already?" Magnus teased. "I'm afraid I can't keep up with you, darling."

Alec laughed breathlessly and pulled him closer. "Well, that's too bad - because I wasn't quite done with you yet," Alec smirked, and bent down to kiss Magnus again.

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

 

Alec woke up with a pleasant ache lingering in his body and a warm naked body curled protectively around his own. 

They'd finally done it.  

It had been amazing. _Magnus_ had been amazing. Patient and generous, but he'd also been clear about how much he _wanted_  Alec. He hadn't treated Alec like something fragile, which would certainly have made Alec feel self-conscious about how inexperienced he was. He had trusted that Alec knew what he wanted, and then some. Alec's cock gave an interested twitch at the memory. Well, Magnus was still asleep, but Alec could get started on his own. 

Alec didn't bother trying to keep quiet, and his sounds and movements soon woke Magnus up. 

"Well, _good_ morning," Magnus teased, reaching a hand around to wrap around Alec's hand.

Alec turned around to kiss Magnus, gasping into his mouth when Magnus' hand slid lower to play with his balls, then even further to graze lightly over his entrance, the sensation sending the heat in his gut ratcheting up even though he was still sensitive and a little sore. 

"It's not even six in the morning, Alexander. And we had a rather late night," Magnus said, although he didn't stop his ministrations on Alec.  

"We both went without proper sleep for weeks. What's one more night?" Alec panted.  

Magnus let out a short snort of laughter, then sighed dramatically. "Oh, god. This is what I get for dating a teenager."

"I didn't hear you complaining about it last night," Alec grinned. 

"That's probably because my mouth was otherwise occupied," Magnus murmured in a low voice that went straight to Alec's cock. 

Magnus nudged him until he was lying on his back, and Alec scooted up a bit so he was sort of in a sitting position. Magnus pushed Alec's knees apart to make a space for himself, then kissed his way down Alec's body, paying special attention to the sensitive spots he'd discovered over the weeks and new ones he'd discovered last night. Down the length of his neck and along his collarbone; tongue swirling around his nipples until he'd worked them into hard nubs and Alec was squirming from the stimulation; down his abs and dipping his tongue briefly into Alec's navel, drawing a bubble of laughter from Alec; then gently trailing kisses and nibbles along his inner thighs, from the backs of Alec's knees to his hip bones and back again; sucking Alec's testicles into his mouth one by one; then finally, _finally_ where Alec wanted him. 

Alec felt the head of his cock hit the back wall of Magnus' throat, then go even further down - then Magnus swallowed around him, and Alec could feel his throat constricting around his cock. He thrust up frantically, unable to stop himself, and Magnus let him, his moans muffled by Alec's dick in his throat. Alec looked down, and the combination of the intense pressure around his cock, the friction from rubbing the sensitive head against the warm, wet and smooth surface of Magnus' throat, and the sight and sounds of Magnus' head bobbing up and down with a slick sucking sound had him right on the edge immediately. Magnus looked up at him and kept his eye contact with Alec as he slid down his length even further, until his lips were stretched obscenely around the base of Alec’s cock, and it was just too much. Alec came with a shout, and when Magnus swallowed it all down with Alec's cock still deep inside his throat, the suction from the action became so intense that Alec thought he might have fried half his brain cells with that orgasm.

Alec was definitely going to learn how to do that, so he could repay the favour. 

He was dimly aware of Magnus getting up to straddle his thighs, and dazedly watched Magnus jerking himself off until he came all over Alec's abs.  

"Come here," Alec urged, and fitted his mouth over the head of Magnus' cock, using his tongue to lap up the lingering bitter-salty-sweet taste of Magnus' release until Magnus was gasping from the overstimulation.  

"Alex-Alexander, love-" Magnus ran one hand gently through Alec’s hair. "It's too much, fuck-" 

Alec pulled off, and Magnus slumped bonelessly against him, shivering and winded like he'd been out running. Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus, kissing his shoulder as he came down from his climax. 

"That was for my teenager comment, wasn't it?" Magnus asked, voice rough, although that was probably partly from Alec fucking his throat.  

"Maybe," Alec grinned. 

Magnus huffed, then his gaze softened, and for a moment Alec wondered if Magnus was going to say the same words that were on the tip of his own tongue. Was it too early for "I love you"s? Alec had no idea what the convention was, but he was pretty sure six weeks was a bit early for that, even without the bittersweet emotional tangle of Magnus leaving (but also Magnus being afraid of losing him, of being afraid that Alec might think he wasn't worth it). Besides, they'd just slept together for the first time, and even if Alec felt the words could be true, he didn't want Magnus to think that he was just saying it because he was on a high from a series of mind-blowing orgasms. 

Magnus cupped his face, gave him a small smile, and kissed him gently. Alec closed his eyes and tried to put the words he didn't quite dare to say yet into the kiss. 

"Clean up and go back to sleep?" 

"Yeah."

 

 

They'd woken up just in time to catch the last hour of breakfast service at the hotel café, but it was only the fact that they'd ruined both the covers and the sheets from their activities that convinced Alec to get out of bed so they could leave the hotel's housekeeping services to do their job. 

Alec checked his phone when they were on the way down to the café and snorted. "I have a dozen all-caps messages from Izzy. Apparently someone took a video of you dancing on the streets last night."

Magnus turned on his phone as well, and his phone immediately started vibrating with a flood of notifications from his instagram and twitter, as well as messages and missed calls from Dot and an unknown number. Alec glanced at it in amusement as Magnus' phone continued to vibrate in his hand, all the way through the short walk from the lift lobby to the café. 

"Something tells me the party last night was quite a success," Magnus murmured. When the stream of notifications finally stopped, Magnus hesitated, then unblocked Aldertree's number. 

The hotel breakfast was served buffet-style, and Magnus mischievously made it a point to fill at least three-quarters of his plate from the salad bar. Alec frowned when he sat down at their table.

"Somebody told me that the bottom should stick to a high-fibre diet a few days before sex," Magnus said with a (mostly) straight face. He watched with barely suppressed merriment as several expressions cycled past Alec's face. 

Alec opened his mouth, but the words seem to have gotten lost somewhere on the way there - probably somewhere further south. 

"Do you think housekeeping is done yet?" Alec finally asked, only half-jokingly, and Magnus let out a delighted burst of laughter. 

Before he could tease Alec further, however, Magnus' phone started ringing. When he saw who was calling, his good mood dimmed just a little. He resisted the urge to sigh and accepted the call. 

"Magnus Bane speaking," he replied, even though he knew perfectly well who it was. 

"We'll need you to come in to the office today, Mr Bane," came Aldertree's smarmy smooth professional voice over the line. "We'll see you at 5pm sharp." 

"No," Magnus said. 

"Excuse me?"

"My agent Ragnor needs to be present for this meeting, so no. I'll call him to find out when he's free, and we'll let you know again," Magnus replied, and hung up. 

"Aldertree?" Alec asked.

"Looks like I might have work to do, after all," Magnus pouted.  

"Magnus, that's literally why you're even here in Japan." 

"But _you're_ more fun to do," Magnus smirked. 

Alec rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "You'd better call Ragnor before he goes to bed." 

"I will," Magnus assured him. "I'll probably have to plan a strategy with him before we go into this meeting, and I should probably call Dot in as well."

"I'll make myself scarce," Alec nodded.

"You can stay," Magnus protested. "I'll probably do a FaceTime, and you can finally meet Ragnor."

"Nah, I'll meet him in person when I'm back in New York," Alec shook his head. "I'd feel weird hanging out there while you're having a business meeting."

"If you're sure."

Alec nodded. "I think I have some stuff that I need to do, anyway."

Magnus watched Alec fidgeting nervously with his fork, and understanding dawned. "Are you planning to go home to talk to your mum?" 

"I'm going to have to, at some point. I might as well get it over with." 

"The meeting probably won't take too long. I could go with you. If you don't want me to be there in case it makes your mother defensive, I could wait downstairs for you," Magnus offered. 

"It's fine. I'll probably still come back here, you know? I want to spend more time with you before you have to go back to New York," Alec said. "Besides, I looked in my bag, and apparently I packed half a dozen t-shirts and nothing else." 

"Just stay naked when you're in my room," Magnus suggested cheekily. "Or you could wear my clothes."

"I can't wear your pants, Magnus," Alec huffed. 

"Can't, or won't? Cropped trousers and bared ankles are all the rage in men's fashion these days, you know."

"Even if I could pull that look off, I'd probably still look horrendous in them. Unlike you, I don't actually have much of a butt, so there isn't actually anything for me to put on display." 

Magnus snickered. "Oh, darling. Don't say that. It's a _very_ lovely butt."

"Mmm, I'm sure," Alec mumbled, ears starting to go red.

"You're not allowed to say anything mean about that butt." 

"Ok, can we please stop talking about my butt now?"

 

  

Alec hadn't expected anybody to be home when he let himself in. It was early in the afternoon on a Monday, and Izzy was usually out with friends until dinnertime. Jace only really went home to exchange his bag of dirty laundry for a bag of clean clothes, and Maryse would still be in the office. He figured he'd have some time to pack some things while he thought about what he needed to say to Maryse when she came home. 

So when he heard his mother call out, "Izzy, is that you?", he was so startled he dropped his keys. 

"Alec," Maryse said in surprise when she saw him. 

Alec straightened up, wincing a little as he did, the action pulling on muscles and places inside his body that he hadn't realised would still be quite so sore.

"Are you ok?" Maryse asked worriedly. "Did you hurt yourself?"  

"No. I, uh, might have overdone it at the hotel gym," Alec lied. 

Maryse expression looked like she clearly didn't buy it, but she let it go. "I saw Magnus on the news. Is everything ok with him and his company?"

"He's working it out with them,"  Alec nodded. 

"That's good."

They lapsed into an awkward silence. Alec stood there by the door for a while, waiting to see if Maryse would make the first move to break it. 

"Mom, I-" 

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Maryse said. "I'm so sorry I put that all on you. I've been so focused on keeping this family together that I've forgotten that you all have to be your own people some day."

Alec nodded to show he'd heard, not very sure now to respond to that.

"It's just... You three are all I have left," Maryse said, starting to cry. "I've only just lost Max, and now it feels like I'm losing you too. I'm being silly."  

"Mum... you're not losing me, alright?" Alec said, walking over to his mother and hugging her. "I promise I'll call every week."

"Of course I know I'm not losing you," Maryse replied, returning the hug. "You're just growing up, that's all."

"You still have Izzy. And Jace."

"Yes, and Jace will always need looking after, won't he?" Maryse chuckled tearily. 

"Or at least someone who'll finally make him learn how to use a washing machine."

Maryse laughed a bit at that and smiled at Alec. She sniffled a bit, then told him, "I got in touch with an old friend in New York, and he says he has a spare room. You might know his step-daughter, you went to school together - Clary, I think her name was?" 

Alec wrinkled his nose. "Is she going to be there, too?" 

"You just don't like her because she broke up with Jace," Maryse said, amused.

Alec shrugged non-committally. Jace was his brother - of course he was going to take his side. 

"She's studying at Tisch, so yes she's going to be there. But her brother is in Europe for his studies, so Luke said you were welcome to his room. Clary and her brother lost their mother to cancer last year, and the house has been far too quiet with just the two of them, Luke says. They'll be happy to have you." 

Being stuck with one of his mother's stuffy business associates and Clary Fray did not sound appealing at all, but he supposed he wasn't really in a position to turn down free lodging. "Oh. Ok. Thanks, Mum," Alec said.

Maryse didn't seem troubled by his lack of enthusiasm; in fact, her smile grew wider. "Luke is an officer with the NYPD, but I wanted to find out more about the sort of neighbourhood he lives in, and Luke tells me his next door neighbours are quite the characters. A British man, and an Asian man who's some sort of musician?"

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

 

Magnus got ready for his meeting the next day in full battle armour - fresh nail polish, winged eyeliner, a streak of red war paint in his hair, and he'd done his contouring with a touch of glitter. He'd had Alec pick his rings for good luck, and he had a new red scarf draped around his neck for a touch of colour in his otherwise formal all-black ensemble. Dot, who had been waiting at the reception lobby of the office for him, gave an approving wolf whistle when she saw him, and Magnus slung one arm around her, grinning.

"Ready to wipe the smirk off that slimy bastard's face?" he asked her. 

"Ready when you are," Dot nodded. 

Magnus swept into the meeting room with a brilliant smile at the row of stern-faced executives, and made the effort to greet them in Japanese. 

"I see you decided to associate yourself with Miss Rollins, even though we expressly told you not to," Aldertree said, as Dot set up the laptop so Ragnor could join the meeting.   

"Funnily enough, I hear the rest of the board thought Dot left of her own accord because of 'personal reasons'," Magnus replied. "Anyway, Dot is here as my translator and personal assistant, on my own payroll. Let's get this meeting started, shall we?"

Aldertree frowned briefly, then cleared his throat. "I'm sure you know why we had to call this meeting. Not only did you miss an event we organised specially to promote your album, you repeatedly refused to respond to our attempts to contact you, and then organised your own meet-and-greet in direct competition with company events. Maybe you think that because you're from the US, you are entitled to unprofessional, rebellious behaviour, like some sort of rock star-"

"You call it rebellion, I call it initiative," Magnus shrugged. "I wanted to apologise to my fans because I'd missed the official event due to personal reasons, and I'd intended for it to be a casual, informal gathering. I didn't plan for it to draw the attention of the mainstream media."

Aldertree immediately attempted to speak over Dot's quickfire translation of the conversation, "That's exactly the problem - your job is to sing and dance, not plan for media backlash."

"What media backlash? It's not like Magnus went around bad-mouthing the label. In fact, he did the exact opposite - free positive publicity," Ragnor cut in. "And you can't pretend it hasn't been good for the label, because we've been monitoring the coverage as well, with the help of Dot."

"This is not the way we do things here," Aldertree scowled. 

"You've been here for even less time than us," Magnus pointed out, amused. "When the label signed me on, Tanaka- _san_ told me they were looking for something different, something exciting to liven up the company's roster of talent, and that's exactly what I am."

"Fine. Even if we let that go, how do you explain your repeated refusal to respond to our attempts to contact you?"

"That would be because we were working on a new proposal together," Ragnor responded. "You see, we thought it'd be better to capitalise on Magnus' uniqueness, rather than try to fit him into the existing mould you have for your talent. We've discussed all this with Tanaka- _san_ of course, and naturally we don't expect a decision today - we hope this will be to the benefit of both parties."

Ragnor began listing the points they'd discussed together - more casual meet-ups with fans, proper living quarters for Magnus, commercials for products that tied in more appropriately with Magnus' image. And even with his limited command of formal Japanese, Magnus could tell that Dot's elegant translation was both concise and polite, couching their demands as ways to move forward together and improve their working relationship to the benefit of both sides, rather than actual demands. Some of the executives were already nodding along to the suggestions.  

"And I want to work closer with my lyricist, so that we come up with the whole song, words and melody both, together - rather than doing our own separate thing like what we're doing now, and hoping it fits together. And half the songs on the album should be in English, fully written and composed by me. That way, we can really bring a truly unique product to the market," Magnus finished off.  

"Anything else?" Aldertree asked, clearly sarcastic.

"Well, there's one last thing," Magnus smiled beatifically at Aldertree. "You see, Victor - I can call you Victor, right? - I felt we might have started off on the wrong foot, and I really wanted us to be friends. So I got in touch with this nice young man I know back in New York, who helped me find your Facebook profile - and I must admit, I was very troubled by the things you've been posting on there," Magnus said, enjoying the way Aldertree's face started taking on an uneasy, shifty look. "I mean, the jokes about Hiroshima were already in poor taste, but the racist slurs against the Japanese were really unacceptable. Considering you work for a Japanese company, you might want to tone that down."

There was certainly an awkward silence after Dot had finished translating _that_. 

"I think that's all we have for you today," Ragnor finally said. "We look forward to discussing this further."

"And if you need a new international talent manager, there's someone I could recommend," Magnus said, winking at Dot. 

Magnus and Dot managed to make it all the way out of the office building before they burst out laughing. 

"Did you see his face?" Dot giggled. 

"Serves him right, though. What a disgusting person," Magnus wrinkled his nose. He gave her a hug. "You're a treasure. I don't know what Ragnor and I would do without you." 

"Flatterer," Dot scoffed.  

But before Magnus could protest that, his phone started ringing - with Ragnor's number. 

"I received a call from Tanaka- _san_ saying we should have an answer by tonight after the board meeting - _sans_ Aldertree - but he's almost certain we'll get everything we proposed."

"Pfft. Of course they were going to go for it. Dot was amazing, and our proposal was incredible." 

"I never thought I'd say this, but it's almost a pleasure to see you so full of yourself again, my friend," Ragnor said. "What's gotten into you?"

"Well, I did finally consummate my relationship with Alexander," Magnus said cheekily. 

Ragnor didn't even bother replying - Magnus heard a loud snort of disgust over his own roaring laughter, and Ragnor very pointedly hung up on him.

 

 

Alec was gone for the whole day, having promised his mother that he was going to spend some time with her. When Magnus received his message asking to meet him at Dotonbori for dinner, he was pleasantly surprised and suddenly nostalgic - as much as it was possible to be nostalgic for something that had happened less than two months ago.

Or maybe it wasn't that strange, after all. In the intervening two months since he had last been here with Alec, so many things had changed - he had changed. He was happier now than he'd been then; the sounds of the local dialect were familiar now, more easily understandable; and he no longer felt like flotsam and jetsam drifting in and out pointlessly with the tide. And maybe Osaka would never be home the way Brooklyn was, but it was no longer a stranger either.

As they went through the stalls, hand in hand, intent on trying things they hadn't tried the first time, Magnus couldn't help but feel that Alec seemed a bit quiet.

"Why the sudden urge to come back here?"

"I was thinking - you have six days left in Osaka, and I'm sure you have to work for some of it. So I thought we could make a list of the places we'd been to together, and visit them one more time before you left," Alec said. "I thought we could go to the aquarium again. Or we could go to some of the places we didn't get to go to-" 

"Alexander," Magnus interrupted him gently. "I'm staying."

"You're staying," Alec repeated, like he couldn't quite make sense of the words. "How long?"

"They've agreed to extend my work visa by three more months. I leave in July - same as you." 

Alec's grip on Magnus' hand tightened, then his face broke into a wide, happy grin. Magnus hadn't even realised how tense Alec had been until he noticed the more relaxed set to his shoulders. 

"Well, I've got some good news to tell you, too," Alec said. "I've known since yesterday, but I didn't want to distract you from your meeting. I'm lodging with my mum's friend Luke Garroway when I go back to New York." 

" _Luke Garroway_?! As in the NYPD officer I play basketball with, stepfather to Clary and Jonathan - _that_ Luke Garroway?"

"Apparently," Alec laughed. 

Magnus grinned. "Oh, Ragnor is going hate this so much."

"What? Why?" Alec asked, suddenly worried. 

"Because there's no way I'm not having you over all the time now that you're going to be right next door," Magnus smirked. 

"Oh."

Magnus took one look at the expression on Alec's face and his grin turned mischievous. "Does this mean our little dinner date is over?" he asked. 

After their first time together, it was like a dam had broken inside Alec. Now that he'd let himself have this, he couldn't seem to stop, and Magnus hadn't been so thoroughly laid for at least the past few years - not that he was complaining. The sights and sounds of a new lover were far more attractive and addictive than that of any exotic place, and Magnus couldn't fault Alec that.  

Alec seemed to be struggling with himself, but he shook his head. "No, it's fine. I mean - we've got time for all of that, you know. But we're only going to be here in Japan for another four months."

Four months, sixteen weeks - these deadlines they kept facing, except that this time it was only for a place, not for a person or a relationship. Their time left in Osaka might be short, but after it was over, with some luck and a lot of effort, Alec would still be by his side, ready to face new experiences and challenges. 

"Of course," Magnus agreed, smiling. "We've got time."

"Besides, I don't want you to think that that's all I'm thinking about when I'm with you, you know?" Alec said. 

Magnus laughed. "You know I don't mind. But there's no reason why we can't have the best of both worlds..."

 

 

"I can't believe I let you convince me to come here," Alec grumbled.  

"It fulfils your criteria of exploring Japan, and having more sex," Magnus shrugged as he let them into the room. "Anyway, we don't have to stay the night, or even at all. I just wanted to take a look around - I told you I've always wanted to visit one." 

"I don't think this was what I meant at all," Alec muttered, then squinted into the darkness of the room. "Magnus. Is that... a car? And why is there a street lamp in the room?!" 

"It's the Volkswagen room!" Magnus said, turning on the lights with a flourish. "You didn't think I was going to get us the Hello Kitty BDSM room, right? I mean, I like cats, but not that way." 

"It's a weird hotel room, but it's still a hotel room. You literally live in a hotel room, Magnus." 

"But this is different - it's a love hotel. It's for fun sex - fantasies, quickies and one-night stands. For a filthy, meaningless fuck with a beautiful stranger," Magnus said slyly. 

"I'm not role-playing that with you." 

"How about a blowjob in the front seat of a car - minus the risk of getting into an accident?"

Alec snorted. "No. It's a nice car, though."

"Sex on the hood of the car?"  

Alec muttered something unintelligible and disappeared into the bathroom to investigate, then made a strangled noise. _That_ sounded promising. Magnus popped his head into the bathroom to see what Alec had discovered.  

"The jacuzzi pool - the floor is transparent," Alec said, horrified. "The people in the room below could just look up and see-"  

"Our feet?" Magnus suggested innocently. 

"I'm going to use the shower," Alec mumbled. 

"I thought we weren't staying?"

"We're already here, anyway." 

Magnus bit back a smile, and went to get them some lube and condoms from the vending machine outside the room. 

 

 

The car. Of course it was the car. Magnus hadn't pegged Alec as a car sort of guy, but apparently there was still a lot he had to learn about Alec, because immediately after their shower, Alec had practically backed him up onto the hood of the damned thing. 

"I was hoping to get this inside me tonight. That is, if you want to, of course," Magnus murmured, cupping Alec meaningfully as he pressed their groins flush together, his lips hot against his neck.

"I want everything with you," Alec said, hands already moving to cradle Magnus' ass. 

"Good. Prep me," Magnus said, already tingling with the anticipation of having Alec's much larger and thicker fingers working him open. 

"But... I don't know what I'm doing. What if I hurt you?" 

"You won't hurt me, darling. It's not that different from doing it for yourself," Magnus said encouragingly. "You're going to be a doctor, think of this as a specialised course on a particular part of the human body." 

"I'm pretty sure I'm not required to finger my patients."

"But you're going to need to finger this one." Magnus placed the back of his hand on his own forehead like a swooning Victorian-era damsel and leaned his weight into Alec. "Oh, Dr Lightwood, I've been feeling strange all afternoon. I'm going to need a full-body examination. There's this particular spot inside my ass-"

The rest of Magnus' sentence was lost when Alec kissed him soundly to shut him up. Magnus started gigging, and pretty soon they were laughing too hard against each other's lips to kiss properly. 

"No. Just _no_ , alright," Alec pleaded, still laughing. 

"Aww. I was so looking forward to playing doctor with you," Magnus teased. 

"I just... I just want to be me, and you to be you. For tonight, at least. Ok?" Alec asked, a quiet, fond expression taking over. 

"Of course, love," Magnus replied, and he was going to blame Alec taking him by surprise for that endearment slipping out. 

They moved on to the bed after that, because while sex on a car sounded hot in theory, the rounded hood of the little vintage beetle was far too small, and the cold hard metal against his bare ass wasn't quite doing it for him. Alec was nervous and gentle - too gentle - and he got lube everywhere, but Magnus didn't have the heart to say anything. Besides, who could think about anything else with those luminous hazel eyes looking at him like he was something precious, fingers carefully working into his body and making his heart feel like it was going to burst with the tenderness of it all.

"I'm ready, Alexander," Magnus said, because he knew that if Alec kept at it he was going to say something really stupid.  

Alec rolled on the condom and lay behind Magnus, body curling around him. Magnus hooked an arm under his own knee so he could keep himself spread, and Alec took himself in hand, holding his cock steady so that he could press the head in. It had been too long since Magnus had done this, but Alec had been very methodical in his preparation. There was a sharp sting at the initial penetration, but that was soon replaced by a dull ache of pleasure as Alec split him open on his cock. Magnus bit down on his lips, not wanting Alec to misinterpret his initial gasp of surprise as an indication that he should stop, but he couldn't help the deep full-bodied groan of pleasure that followed. 

" _Oh_ , Alexander... Fuck... You feel amazing."

Alec had barely gotten halfway in by then, and he dropped his forehead to Magnus' shoulder. "If you keep sounding like that, I don't think I'm going to last very long," Alec said, voice strained. 

Magnus was cycling through his breaths, still trying to adjust to the delicious stretch, but he couldn't resist quipping, "I wouldn't worry. You'll probably be raring to go again in another ten minutes."

Magnus could feel Alec's breath huffing against his neck with soft laughter, then Alec said, "But I want this to be good for you." 

For a moment, Magnus couldn't speak, too overwhelmed by Alec's raw earnestness. "Make love to me, Alexander," Magnus said softly, and there it was again, the 'L' word that kept slipping out of Magnus mouth when it was far too early in their relationship to be saying things like that. 

When Magnus finally dared to turn around to look at Alec, he found Alec staring at him, eyes wide, the choice of words not lost on him. "Magnus," he said softly, voice a little husky - then he kissed Magnus, arms wrapping around Magnus' chest, and rolled his hips up into Magnus' body, drawing another moan from Magnus when he pressed himself all the way in with one long, slow stroke. 

They rocked against each other languidly, sweetly. Faces turned towards each other, tongues and lips sliding together lazily, hot breath fanning each other's cheeks with the occasional gasp of pleasure from either of them as Alec moved in and out of Magnus' body. There was no rush, no place they had to get to, no end point in mind - just the sensation of sinking slowly into each other, the heat between them spreading, rising. 

Then Alec reached a hand under his knee, feeling around at the place where they were joined and brushing the stretched rim lightly, and Magnus couldn't help arching his back and grinding down. Alec groaned and his hand flew to wrap around Magnus' cock, their love-making suddenly gaining urgency. 

"Oh god, Alexander... You're making me feel so good," Magnus moaned thrusting up into Alec's fist, then crying out when Alec snapped his hips into his body in time with the downstroke, hitting his prostate hard enough to make him see stars. 

"Right there, right there, _yes_ , fuck, _harder_..."

Alec fucked into Magnus desperately, breathing in harsh gasps, with no rhythm or pattern in his movements except the need to come, pinning Magnus between the pleasure of his body and his hand. Magnus could already feel his own inner muscles spasming around Alec's cock as his climax drew closer, driving Alec wilder with each tightening of his body. Then Alec suddenly thrust himself as deep as he could go, and Magnus felt the telltale twitch of Alec's cock as he came inside him. 

"Magnus, _Magnus_..." Alec's broken moans as he ground his shuddering body into him turned the pressure in his gut into raw electricity surging through his veins, and Magnus spilled over Alec's fist with a wordless shout. 

When he'd finally caught his breath, Magnus was feeling loose-limbed and emotionally wrung out, and Alec was still breathing heavily, shivers of pleasure wrecking his body. Magnus wrapped his arms around where Alec was holding him tightly against his own chest. He could still feel Alec inside him, softening now. They should get cleaned up before they accidentally fell asleep like this. Alec pressed a gentle kiss into the nape of Magnus' neck, somehow more intimate than anything else they'd done tonight. 

"Magnus?"

"Hmm?" 

"I know I haven't really had much experience in this area, so maybe you think I don't know enough to mean it..." 

Magnus' brows furrowed. "Why would I think that? I know you always mean what you say." 

Alec took a deep breath. "Well... I think I love you," he said softly.

Magnus felt the grip on his heart both loosen and tighten painfully at the same time. What did it matter if they were in some weird novelty hotel room, if this wasn't how Magnus had planned to tell Alec? Of all the people in the world, and all the places they could have been in, they had found each other so far away from home. 

Magnus turned his head to find Alec smiling tentatively at him, and Magnus just had to kiss that smile to make it wider, brighter.

"I think I love you too."


	16. Epilogue

 

 

"All ticketed and confirmed passengers for Flight 503 to New York City, please proceed to Gate 17 immediately. I repeat..."

Where _was_ Alec? 

"He isn't picking up his phone?" Dot asked. 

Magnus shook his head. After they'd checked-in their bags, Alec had received a call from his mum, and gone off to find the rest of his family, who had been somewhere in the crowded airport waiting for him. It wasn't that Magnus wasn't friendly with Alec's family - far from it, in fact. During the four months of Magnus' extended stint in Osaka, he had spent a lot of time with them, even Maryse (although their interactions were mostly limited to small talk over Lightwood family dinners).  Jace had really toned down his antagonism towards Magnus, but that might also have been because Magnus and Maia had hit it off and had become very good friends. But if they wanted some time alone with Alec, just them as a family, Magnus was hardly going to begrudge them that. 

Besides, there had been fans waiting to say goodbye to Magnus at the airport, and Alec was always shy about having to be around them, even though most of Magnus' fans knew who he was and were generally cordial, if not friendly to him. 

Magnus had practically grown up in the foster system after his parents had died when he was barely a teenager, so family drama had always been something he'd observed from a distance - something that happened around him, occasionally even caused by him, but never something he had to get directly involved in. The individual members of the Lightwood family were undoubtedly slowly recovering from their pain and grief in their own ways, but he had never seen a family so prone to using the television as a distraction and deflecting mechanism to avoid actually talking to each other. Magnus hoped Alec's family hadn't had some last-minute crisis that was preventing Alec from catching their flight on time.  

"Oh, there he is!" Dot cried out, waving. 

Magnus turned in relief, and there Alec was - walking towards him with long strides, the rest of his family trailing behind. There was Maryse and Izzy of course, but also Jace - and, surprisingly, Maia. Had Maryse even met Maia before this?  

"Sorry I'm late," Alec said breathlessly. "Jace was being an idiot."

"What's new?" Magnus stage-whispered. 

"Hey, I heard that!" Jace scowled. 

"You'd better go, stop squabbling," Maryse scolded, pulling Alec into a hug. 

To Magnus' great surprise, Maryse then turned to pull him into a tight hug as well. "Take care of my boy," she whispered in his ear.

"I will," Magnus promised. 

"Final boarding call for Flight 503 to New York City. All ticketed and confirmed passengers, please proceed to Gate 17 immediately. I repeat, final boarding call..." 

"C'mon. We're going to have to run for it," Alec said, pecking Izzy on the forehead one last time.

There was a jumble of "love you", "call us", and "take care" exchanged between the small group, a flurry of last-minute hugs, kisses and pats on the back. Then Magnus and Alec were dashing through the doors to the immigration counters and barrelling down the shiny tiled hallways towards the departure gates. Fit as they both were, they were well out of breath when they arrived at the departure gate just in time to get on the plane. 

They tried vainly to settle down in the cramped plane seats. Magnus had decided to sacrifice his usual choice of a window seat for aisle seats because Alec really needed the extra leg room, but by a stroke of luck, the window seat had remained empty. Twenty-four hours before they were back in New York. Magnus was so glad that he wouldn't have to face the insufferably long flight alone this time. 

"Can I convince you to join me in the mile-high club later?" Magnus whispered in Alec's ear.

Alec snorted and whispered back, "Now who's got sex on the brain?"

Magnus grinned at him and waggled an eyebrow.

Alec rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "Ok, yeah. Maybe."

The plane started to cruise on the runway, the engine whining softly as it began to rev up - then with a lurch, it was off into the sky. Alec had his eyes fixed on the blue water of Osaka Bay as they left it all behind, looking a little pensive.

"Does it feel like you're going home, or leaving home?" Magnus asked Alec, fitting his hand in Alec's. 

Alec squeezed his hand a little tighter, and gave Magnus that small lopsided grin that had stolen his heart in the first place. "You know - I think I'm already home."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> Wow, I can't believe this is over. I will miss these two very, very much.
> 
> Thank you for coming along on this little journey with me. Your comments and reactions have made writing this story so worthwhile - thank you!
> 
> Y'all know I currently have a [Shadowhunters-Supernatural crossover fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13797057/chapters/31718694) going on at the moment, and because my brain just won't shut up, I do have other ideas at research stage, so I'll see you guys again soon! In the meantime, you can find me on tumblr @la-muerta.
> 
> Until next time! XOXO


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